Chapter 3

Try as I might, I could not use this 'power' of mine, directly. I drew a pretty good representation of Mathew, but no matter where I went in the house, it just looked like an amazing likeness, no extra power at all. I also tried other places I knew well, and people who had been my friends for years. Nothing. I even drew my parents as I remembered them, sitting in the living room... nothing.

When I changed back to freestyle drawing, and just let my imagination wonder, I started drawing a sailing ship. The storm driven sea waves were tossing it about violently, and it seemed to be in a great deal of trouble. In the distance a shore could be seen. The crew had lost sailing control, when the main mast had snapped in two. The top portion, with its torn sail, had fallen into the sea. It was acting as a 'sea anchor', marginally stabilizing the craft

I drew the crew lowering lifeboats into the water. Another drawing had them leaving their foundering ship. Yet for some reason, I was still unwilling to leave the ship. I remained fixed on it. Every once in a while I would check on the wizard, but his picture stayed static, and nothing new was being received from it.

I finally rested.

"Nothing?" Mathew boomed at me.

"No. Whenever I draw of this world, here, it is just a good representation. Actually, it's an amazingly good representation... it's some of the best work I have done in years," I said musingly. Then I went on, "But now, I seem to be concentrating on a ship in that 'other world'. At least I think it's the same 'other world' where the dragon and wizard were fighting. The same wizard we talked to," I said tiredly.

"Well, what do we know? First, magic is a power that works well in that other world, but does not seem to work in this one. The wizard told us in his conversation earlier this evening, that magic will always find an outlet, or way to release itself.

"So let us consider. Here, in this world, you are a very talented artist whose drawings and portraits are in great demand. Is it possible your magic is being translated into talent here, or into an ability far above normal? I think it is likely, boy," Matt said gruffly to me.

I nodded thoughtfully. That could be it, exactly. At least, it seemed to fit with what we had found out during our talk with the wizard. An ability that translated into a talent. That got me thinking about other people. People who were very talented in other ways, and were far above other people's efforts in whatever field they chose.

Michael Jordan came to mind with his basketball ability. He seemed to defy gravity, with his very long lived jumps into the air, towards the basket, Jumps that had earned him the name 'Air Jordan'. Others, too, I thought of, but it was impossible to know for sure. I sighed and relayed what I had just thought to Matt.

"I think you're right boy. Now, I think you should get some rest, as you seem beat. This magic drawing seems to take it out of you," he said with a hint of concern.

"I do feel something like energy going into my drawings, when I draw most of my fantasy pictures," I admitted.

"Then off to bed with you! You can get an early start tomorrow right after breakfast," Matt boomed at me.

"I'll have eggs over easy, hash browns, four link sausages, and milk," I told him, beating him to the punch.

He looked at me, and then started laughing. He hobbled out still laughing, and then his voice floated back.

"Don't forget. Your at the top of the stairs, first door to the left," he said, then silence.

The next morning dawned rainy and dreary but we were snug in this house. Hell, I don't think anything less than a concerted effort with a wrecking ball or dynamite would knock it down.

Surprisingly enough, when I went to the kitchen, Matt was already there. He had a plate of sausages already cooked, coffee was on, and the hash browns were finishing. He cooked the hash browns with some diced onion pieces in it, from the smell. It all smelled wonderful.

"Eggs will be done shortly. Help yourself to whatever you want to eat, and then get out of my way," I was ordered brusquely.

I did as ordered and waited for my eggs. He signaled 'ready', and I took my plate up to him. He dumped two eggs on it. I went back to the table and started chowing down. I did have a cup of coffee. In the morning, coffee was an ok way to start the day, but tea was my preferred drink the rest of the day. Breakfast was a different story.

After breakfast we washed dishes and then I went back to the huge living room and got started where I left off. To me, it seemed that the ship was sitting much lower in the water, though the storm had abated, somewhat. The rain and sky outside now matched what was in my sketchbook. I shivered. This was positively eerie.

I got started. First thing I did was start drawing a sort of glow around the ship. I did it with my colored pencils.

Then I drew the ship in another panel, sitting calmly and in a sort of protected area, due to the glow I had created. When that was complete, I felt extremely weak and had to sit down for a moment.

I breathed in and out and my weakness passed. Wow, I had not been expecting that at all. Now, to figure out why this abandoned ship meant so much to me. I noticed for the first time that Matt was sitting quietly, watching me.

"This ship seems to have taken my interest, and I don't know why," I explained to him.

"Then find out. What is in or aboard yonder ship, that has fixed your interest? Draw it, feel it. It's your magic after all. Just be careful," he said with a gentle rumble.

As I started in on the interior of the ship, I noticed I was drawing a huddled figure, and some sort of animal, a medium sized dog or very large cat of some sort? The problem was that in the drawing, the figures were surrounded by darkness and shadows. Hard to make out details.

As I watched this new drawing for a moment, it took life and the dog or cat, still unable to make it out, nudged the figure huddle on the floor. I decided to shed light on this, and started adding a glowing ball to the drawing. Soon, it illuminated the subjects.

In the next panel I could clearly see the two who were in the cabin or room. One was a girl in her teens I supposed, and the other was, well, I had never seen something like this before.

It seemed to be a cross between a tiger and a wolf if you can imagine that. It was also much bigger than I had originally thought, now that I had shed light on everything. Damn, but the shadows had hid a lot.

The girl was chained to the wall, and she was pulling at the chains, and seemed to be calling out, but I could not hear her. The tiger wolf did not touch the chains for some reason.

"Well, a girl and some sort of pet maybe? Frank, in all honesty I have never seen anything like that cat thing, have you?" Matt asked me in that rumbling voice I was getting used to.

"Never. Seems to be a cross between a tiger and a wolf perhaps?" I responded.

"So you have a ship in trouble and abandoned, a girl and an animal of some sort. What is so special about those two that it called your power to them? Also, how come we can't hear them as we could the wizard?" was his loudly rumbling question.

"Well, the Wizard always made a connection of some sort. Remember? He had to include you, so you could hear? I think I have to finish the connection somehow, and that's the trick. The question is... How?" I answered, feeling a wave of frustration building up in me.

"Well, either way, this girl and her pet need rescuing. That ship is not going to stay afloat indefinitely if I'm any judge of floating crap," Matt stated.