Chapter 9: Confidence is Key

When he woke up in the morning, he felt more refreshed and relaxed than he ever had. This may be the best he has ever felt. While getting ready for the day, he couldn’t help but whistle. Wess was prepared to face the gardens. Today he felt like he could do anything. When he arrived for breakfast, he realized that he was early. CJ hadn’t come down yet. A few minutes later, she came down the stairs. She was surprised to see that he was already there, but she didn’t say anything. She just thought it doesn’t happen often, but it happens.

After breakfast, they went out to the gardens. When they got to the gate, Wess told CJ that he wanted to try again. Instead of attempting a complete invisibility spell, he used a camouflage charm. It was easier, so he knew that he could do it. Success! The gate opened, and they entered. Wess followed CJ to the other side of the fountain.

“You seem more confident today,” CJ said.

“Yeah,” he said, “It’s like you told me. Don’t hope it will work. Know it will work.”

“Well, keep it up. It seems to be working.”

“Of course, it’s working because I knew it would.”

“Okay, make a bench here just like the other side.”

He started to picture the bench in his mind. When he had a solid image of the bench in his mind, he cast the spell. Nothing happened! He looked at CJ, who didn’t say anything. Know it will work, know it will work, he mentally repeated to himself. This time it will work, he told himself. A few seconds later, a perfect duplicate of the bench on the other side appeared.

“Very good!” CJ said. “Now, let’s try summoning.”

He was more confident about this one. He and art had been practicing by summoning a ball back and forth between each other. A few times, he accidentally called Art instead of the ball. But after a while, he was able to gain more control. CJ sent the ball, candle, and the ring in different directions. Wess concentrated on the objects, picturing them in his mind. All three things came floating towards them. One at a time, He grabbed them and placed them on the wall of the fountain.

“That’s great,” CJ said. “Are you ready for the last one?”

Without saying a word, Wess turned to the fountain. Only pausing for a second, he levitated a large stone out of the water. After floating it around, over the water, Wess went to put it back. However, he lost concentration and dropped the stone in the water. That caused a huge splash, soaking them both.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Don’t worry about it. You passed!”

“I passed! How!”

“You were able to perform all of the tasks,” she said. “You don’t get penalized for little mistakes. The object is to learn not to be perfect.”

“Point taken. Now what?”

“Now, you get to see what the plaque with the stone is for.”

They walked around to the back of the fountain. CJ directed Wess to stand in front of the plaque. As soon as he did, the entire plaque started to glow. No, the plaque wasn’t shining. There was a light floating all around the plaque. Then there was a voice in his head that told him to put his hand on the plaque. When he did, all of the light was sucked into the stone. When the stone absorbed all the light, it started floating out of the rock like a long ribbon. It danced its way to Wess and into the top of his head.

Suddenly more than a dozen new spells awoke from his memory. It was hard to tell if the plaque had added the memories or caused him to remember. All he knew was, CJ was right about confidence. But it was more than confidence. Knowing that he could do it helped him have more courage. After completing the first garden, they decided to take an early lunch and start the second garden. So, they went inside to have lunch. After lunch, they returned to the gardens.

“This is the second garden,” CJ said. “Now stand in front of the pedestal.”

Wess walked to the pedestal and stood in front of it.

“With magic and selective breeding, your last incarnation created a new plant species with a long narrow root,” the book said. “What color is the Weston root, and what can it be used for?”

“My guess is black, and I’m sure it’s used for something dark,” Wess said.

“Close enough,” the book said. “The black root snakes out just below the ground and is the main ingredient for making the dark candle.”

“Wait!” CJ said. “What’s the dark candle, and what does it do?”

“It looks like an ordinary candle, except it’s impossibly black,” Wess said. “When it’s lit, it gives off darkness instead of light. I’m pretty sure that it causes other light sources to give off darkness too.”

“That is correct,” the book said.

“Wess, how do you know all of that?” CJ asked. “I’ve never heard of it!”

“I guess I forgot to tell you,” Wess said. “I found Weston’s dark laboratory, and there’s a dark candle in there burning as we speak.”

“Forgot to tell me?” she snarled. “How could you forget to tell me something like that.”

“Well, I was a bit preoccupied with being evil and chaining you to the wall,” he said. “Anyway, I sealed it back up. I’m through with dark magic.”

“I see your point. It’s your choice,” CJ said. “But there could be some kind of clue or something about your curse.”

“Yeah, but there’s a lot of dangerous stuff in there,” he said. “And I don’t like the idea of messing with stuff that I don’t understand. Especially if it’s dangerous and evil!”

“Can I at least see it before you seal it forever?” she asked. “If we can’t find anything to help you, we can have Bobby lock everything in a demon vault, never to be seen again.”

“Okay,” he said, “but not today. Tomorrow after breakfast.”

“Deal,” she said. “Now, let’s get back to this garden.”

Having nothing else to say, Wess walked into the garden. This garden was full of plants. The paths were narrow and wound around the whole garden in between all kinds of plants and herbs. It was like a maze. In some areas, you could barely see over the plants. Other places were as thick and tall as a jungle. From where he was, though, he could tell that this garden was a lot bigger than the first one. He followed CJ through the winding paths until they got to a massive clearing in the center of the garden.

“This is where you will learn about herbology and making potions,” CJ said. “The most common herbs for potion making grow around this clearing in the center of the garden. Ordinary herbs that can be found in nature grow at the front of the garden. And the most dangerous herbs grow at the back of the garden.”

“What grows in the other two sides?” Wess asked.

“Mythical herbs,” she said. “Those are the herbs that are so rare that most people don’t even believe that they exist.”

“Why not show people and prove that they exist?” Wess asked.

“Because, if everyone knew for sure that they existed, every dark Wessier would try to steal them,” she said. “Anyone who grows them finds it more prudent to let everyone else believe that they don’t actually exist.”

She gave Wess several large books to study. Then she began his first lesson by walking through the garden, pointing out and teaching him about the main herbs with which he would be working. By the end of the day, he had learned more than he ever imagined knowing. So far, this was the subject that he liked the best. He was almost sad when the lesson ended for the day. But he soon got over it when they sat down to eat dinner. He didn’t realize how hungry he had gotten. After dinner, he took the books up to his room.

After placing the books on his desk, he called for Bobby. Giving the same excuse he gave CJ, Wess asked Bobby about the staff, the mansion, and his role in running the estate. Bobby answered all of his questions, and It turns out that Wess was now a multi-billionaire. He owned stock in every major company in the world. Wess also owned land and had bank accounts in most countries worldwide, all managed by Bobby for him. Bobby gave him all the information he needed to access his accounts. He also confirmed that everyone on the staff was older, and none of them had children under twenty.

After Bobby left, Wess thought about everything that he had learned. He especially thought about the staff. Nina wasn’t on the staff, and it seemed like she wasn’t related to the team. So, who is she, and why is she here? He decided that the only way he would get those answers was from her. I just have to be patient, he thought. She’ll either tell me or not. After giving it more thought, he decided that the most important thing was that she was there. He could live with not knowing as long as he got to see her.