Chapter 73

‘Akl, something feels off. I’m not sure if I should blink,’ Zeke thought.

Akl responded, ‘Then don’t. Use the look-through spell first.’

Zeke frowned, ‘Have I ever used that spell? I can’t recall it.’

Akl chuckled, ‘Yes, when you were spying on Frank and his girlfriend.’

‘Oh, yeah. Now, that’s a memory I wish I could forget. I still can’t see why my mother married him or what Penny saw in him. He is lousy in bed. If he taught me anything, it was what not to do with a partner.’

‘Zeke, If there is one thing I’ve learnt about human nature, it is that most men, no matter what they say, have some difficulty accepting a child sired by another man on the woman they love.’

‘Especially if they are smart arse, little shits like you were. It’s a biological, evolutionary thing. It is also why you are protective of her. As a male child, you are driven to protect her for your father, even though he was out of the picture.’

‘If you had been a girl, you would have reacted differently, and so would have your mother. As you got older, you would seem a threat to her if you and Frank got too close. If she found him attractive, she could see why you would too.’

‘Am I going to have that problem with my lovers?’

‘No, you are wired differently. You may still be a touch more protective of the children you sire, but because you love Lindsay and Carly, you will consider their children yours. Most magically inclined people are more survival of the race centric, than driven by their need to replicate their own genes.’

‘Oh, I finally remembered the spell, Akl. Let’s see why I’m reluctant to blink to the other side.’

Zeke performed the spell. As the hidden door appeared to dissolve, he noticed the room beyond was quite large and well-lit. He was horrified to see the back of the room was lined with bars and divided into four small cells. Two were occupied.

On the right side of the room, near the cages, was a large X-frame. Beside it was what appeared at first glance to be a dentist’s chair, then a set of double doors. What Zeke suspected were doors to drawers that held the dead, were on the other side of the doors.

In the middle, towards the back, was a mortician’s table. Then, a wide-open space and a long central workbench. Down the wall to his left were counters and wall-mounted cabinets spaced by refrigerator units and vapour hoods.

‘What the fuck is this place?’ Zeke thought at Akl.

‘A very bad place for magical people to be in,’ Akl responded.

Zeke shivered as he muttered a spell to reveal any other spells in the room. ‘Yes, Akl, a very bad place. There are some nasty spells in this room and on some of the equipment.’

‘Agreed. Unfortunately, magic is like all things, both good and evil, depending on who is wielding it and why.’

‘I thought guides couldn’t let a host do bad things?’

Akl sighed, ‘Zeke, guides trapped in magical items, and who have been without a host for a long time can be less selective when found. After all, I got you.’

‘Thanks, Akl, you know how to make a man feel wanted.’

Akl chuckled. ‘Zeke, worlds without Queen Wizards or Empresses to temper the wielders of magic fall prey to chaos. Earth has been in chaos since the Keltrian system blew up. The magical people that were here lost that link to home.’

‘A lot of the old rules were thrown out. As far as magic goes, this is a different system that needs its own rules. Queen Lee is helping, but Earth isn’t the world she is linked to. In some ways, she is also the problem. The magical people here are drawn to her.’

‘I’ve never worked out why one of the many Lord Wizards that have cropped up on Earth has never been able to make the items for a Queen. Wizard Rah did, but only because he made them on Utopia. That’s why they and Lee are linked to that planet.’

‘Lord Wizard Jahn should have been able to, but he didn’t, and neither did any of my hosts. The only theory I have is critical mass. Just not enough wielders of magic. Your people do like to kill them off.’

‘There were many magical people in my community when the maker of our items tried to make a Queen’s box. But both the Matriarch and Lee say our items are flawed. I am defective, Zeke; it stands to reason other guides are as well.’

‘Akl, humans are defective by nature. Desiring perfection gives us something to strive for. It stands to reason that we will affect your judgement if you spend your time in our heads. Your previous host was certainly no angel.’

‘He wasn’t all bad,’ Akl huffily defended Ptah and his choice of a host.

‘No, but he was human and a man of his time. Akl, even the Keltrians couldn’t totally eliminate their basic nature if they blew up their own system after two million years of having magic. It also took them that long to get to that stage. We are a long way from meeting that achievement.’

‘I see your point. Thank you, Zeke. I do so love being able to converse with you. I wonder why all guides were not given this boon.’

‘Because, we hosts are not supposed to influence our guides. You are supposed to influence us to be good people.’

‘Yes, you are a bad influence on me, Zeke. You make me see the good in people but don’t blind me to the bad. You’re a terrible influence,’ Akl chuckled.

Zeke sighed as he set his mind to eliminating the spells in the room. It soon became apparent that the spells that had been revealed had been set by the same person. Once he had their signature, it was easier to unravel the spells.