Chapter 19

Awakening, Tom was still tired, damn, he hadn’t felt like that since all this started. Rolling out of bed, he was shocked to see Futha sitting beside his bed. She hadn’t made a sound upon entering, waiting quietly for Tom to wake up.

“Hello, Futha. I’m sorry I wasn’t awake to greet you,” Tom said.

Again, Futha was surprised. No one apologized to brownies, especially mages. They always seemed aloof, like they were better than everyone. Hell, that was the main reason the council of magical beings was formed: to keep the mages mostly in check.

“Hello, Mage Tom. I am here today with a request for you. As you know, I have now lost two children. I wish for more, but with my husband dead, I haven’t much hope of having his children anymore. Unless there is something you can do. I have heard that you may be able to obtain what I need just from something of his. My question is, can you?” Futha sat back, a look of hope on her face as she waited with bated breath for Tom’s answer.

Thinking for a few minutes, Tom tried to think of a way to do this without interfering with the past or traveling there. “Do you have something of his I could see? Like a hairbrush, a shirt, anything that might have touched his body,” Tom replied, an idea forming in his mind.

“Yes, I have his hairbrush,” she said as she handed it to Tom.

“Okay, Futha. Give me a day. See me tomorrow, but be prepared; you might have to do something you might not want to do,” Tom said. Had it been any other mage, Futha would have expected the worst, but with Tom, she wasn’t afraid.

After she left, Tom experimented. Seeking the hair on the brush, Tom looked extremely closely, seeing exactly what he needed. Removing the brown hair, Tom made a stoppered vial and began making the genetic material he needed.

Two hours later, he was ready. Stripping the hair down, he finally found it, set it in the vial, then made what he needed. Good, he thought, this was ready. Now he had to work on defeating Malamon. Sighing, he knew he couldn’t kill him; he was too strong to freeze and strip of his powers. Though he’d removed at least 15 abilities from him, Tom knew Malamon was still powerful. He knew that the next time they faced off, Tom might not make it.

Sitting, Tom was deep into his concentration when Frilly flew next to him. For an hour, she watched Tom, wondering if she could help him. Sighing, she lay down, knowing that Tom might be at this for the rest of the day. Several plans started to form, but Tom disregarded them, seeing that too many beings would be destroyed, killed, or maimed. These people had seen too much of that already. This shit needed to end. Sitting up, he noticed Frilly nearby. He hadn’t seen her much the last few days and had been a little worried about her.

Stirring, Frilly looked up, seeing Tom staring at her. “I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help you, Tom, sir.”