Chapter 9

Following his father into the house they didn't stop until they reached the study where DJ had been healed by Amber earlier.

There were no couches in the room, only chairs, so DJ quickly realized that this had been the reason had Amber chosen to heal him on the floor. As they walked they moved further into the room and approached a few of the upright wing back chairs and Dusty took one and gestured at his son to take another.

As DJ sat he realized that Amber didn't have to put his head in her lap and she could have easily used a pillow from one of these chairs. Thinking about it he was surprised by her actions and was confused by what she did. But his father's face seemed to have something very important he needed to convey.

DJ gave him his attention as he watched his father sit in silence watching him.

Dusty for his part was trying to figure out where to start talking. He knew this time was coming, but didn't realize that inside a week he would have to tell his son something he knew that DJ didn't want to hear. Dusty was at a loss for words on how to start. He had hoped to find a gentler way to break this news to him.

"DJ ... son ... do you know what the significance of what that detection crystal showed you means?" Dusty asked.

"Blaine said it was a way to determine who was able to do magic and who wasn't. He said that what it did for me was show that I was called an Archmage or something," said DJ

Dusty was happy that at least DJ knew some of what he needed to talk to him about.

"Yes that is right. DJ what Blaine, Jordan, and Lori are called are Archmages. They can use all forms and types of magic, but only magic. Did your mom ever tell you about the magic she saw when she was here?" asked Dusty changing gears.

"She tried to explain it, but eventually I just read every fantasy book I could get my hands on when I was younger. I can recall them all, but after a while I stopped. I mean I still play a few fantasy games on my PC and I recall all the collectible card games and a few board game rules, but that's about it," said DJ

"Ok, that makes that easier. Most of what you've probably read is correct as far as creatures are concerned. I know that I'm still finding it hard to see in real life things I read in someone else's fantasy, but they are here. If you're not careful one of those fantasies might just kill you or someone close to you.

"But back to magic, magic is broken down into five colors for ease of use. Most of the times you often mix two colors to get a desired result, but they are classed that way for a reason. When you and I got hurt Amber and Lori used White magic on us. That is what is used to heal. There is Red magic, used primarily for destruction. When I first arrived I accidently used Red to destroy the wall of the room I was staying in. It's very powerful.

"Then there is Green magic, something of my favorite, and I bet yours as well based on your experiences in school. It is based on anything found in nature, but we'll get back to that later. Then there is Blue magic, which is mentally based. If you need your mind to do it then blue is it. And lastly Black magic, that one can be a nasty one and if you're not watching carefully it will kill you, said Dusty.

"Dad that is great and all, but why the lesson in magic all of a sudden, why now? It's not like I'll need to know this. Though I have to admit that spell you guys do to keep clothing clean is a neat trick. I've not had to do laundry once since I've been here," said DJ smiling.

"DJ, do you know why I'm still here in this world? It's because even though I can also use magic, I'm one step further than the others. I'm what is known as, as a Battlemage. I'm one of the few that can make a difference in the world and change it by how I interact with others. Amber is one as well. We are so rare that anything we do can sometimes affect the world around us and often has serious repercussions," said Dusty seriously.

DJ sat quietly and watched his father.

"DJ there is a balance to everything around us. And we are forced to walk that balance every day. We are sometimes what is needed to keep things in check in this world. Do you know it's been a long time since anyone managed to do the same level of damage to me that you did in our match?" said Dusty smiling.

"It's because you're getting old," said DJ with a smile.

"Maybe ... maybe not, but I'm stronger now than I ever was in our world. I bet you will continue to grow in strength as well. Right now you're pretty close to where I am now and you've not been here near as long as I have. You will more than like still grow the longer you stay," said Dusty.

"Well maybe that's true. Next time I come back to visit we'll have to test that," said DJ smiling.

Not sure how to do it, and not finding a good way, Dusty decided to just rip off the Band-Aid.

"DJ you can't go home right now. You'll be here for a while," said Dusty quietly.

DJ sat and stared at him without moving for a moment before he trusted himself to speak.

"Dad, are you saying that you won't let me leave? That's not something I would have expected given how much Mom built you up. I have a life that I need to get back too," said DJ with concern.

"No DJ I would never do that to you. I would never do that to anyone. I would never keep them anywhere they didn't want to be. No, see it's because of the gateway that brought you here. It responds and opens to magic, but only from our world's side.

"From what I understand if you have magical potential this world welcomes you and opens a gateway for you to come to it. The gateway is in a pretty hard to find place so it's not like everyone with potential will stumble on it accidentally. A few times it has opened on its own, but it still wouldn't let just anyone in.

"But the problem is on this side. On this side the gate isn't stable. There is no way to open it consistently the same way. The mage's council guards it pretty heavily, but even if they didn't it opens on its own when it wants too at random times. It might open today, it might open tomorrow, or it might open a year from now. There is just no way to know," said Dusty softly to DJ

DJ looked at his father for a moment and then he laughed.

"Good one Dad. You had me going there for a moment," said DJ nervously at what he desperately was hoping was a joke.

But his laughter trailed off at the serious look on his father's face.

"YOU'RE SERIOUS!" said DJ loudly.

"Yes," was all Dusty said.

"But what about Mom! What about my family! What about my life! I have friends, I have plans! I was going to eventually get my double PhD! I was going to get the new Shelby GT this year! It's already PAID FOR! I was, I was..." trailed off DJ

They both sat in silence and didn't speak for a bit.

"So I'll never get to see my Mom or brother and sisters again?" asked DJ softly.

"DJ that is still a possibly. I'll tell you something that shouldn't get out, and I will trust you because of its importance and its importance to you. On the night your mother returned it was me who took her back. Well not the me right now seated in front of you, but a future version of me, the same one that fathered you. I'm sure that I must have spent some time with her in our world for that to happen though.

"But that version of me looked pretty much exactly like I do now. Mages here age slowly, very, very, slowly. We can often times live to be well over 300 plus years. Since I didn't look that much older it couldn't have been that much longer after Suzan passed away that I came for your mother. So the eventual possibility of you returning home one day after that isn't completely gone. It's just pushed off for a bit.

"So if I could come back to the past to get your mother and return her home, I'm sure you will also come to know how I did it and be able go see her. You won't look too much older than you do now and if you do figure it out you can also travel to whenever you want.

"If you think about it, it's not set in stone that you won't get to ever see her again, but it will just be a while until you do. But in the mean time you need to master that magic of yours so that you will have that chance. You need to become the best and greatest that this world has ever seen, and only then you will one day return to see them.

"If you choose to stay in that world once you go back, well then that will be your choice, but you won't have that chance unless you master magic. You have to excel at this unlike anything you've ever done before so that time travel is an option open to you," said Dusty.

DJ was sitting and staring at nothing on the far side of the room. He was having trouble comprehending that he was now stuck here for the foreseeable future.

He just wanted to see his father at least once and get to know him, but now that choice locked him into his father's world for the next unknown amount of years until he or his father figured out how to get back. It was bad enough that they didn't have all the really modern conveniences like cars, electronics, or the internet. But now he had nothing

"DJ take some time, think about it. I'll have to begin training you soon because your power, if left unchecked, could destroy the world and those around you. You probably want to be alone and consider what we talked about," said Dusty.

DJ nodded and slowly got up and headed to his room.

He didn't rejoin the others who were in the yard. DJ stayed in the room the rest of the day, sullen and sulking until night fall. He skipped dinner and soon fell into a restless sleep as the full implications of what was going on slowly sunk in.

DJ was lost in feelings of helpless and deep despair as sleep overtook him that night.

About an hour after Amber's declaration at the discovery of DJ abilities, and now knowing that they had two extremely powerful yet untrained mages in their midst, everyone quickly finished eating and started for their separate homes.

Amber seemed heavily distracted and seemed to be cleaning up after herself with a strange type of automation. Her mother, while getting ready to leave, noticed how Amber was acting and went over and spoke with Anita.

The two of them whispered for a bit, smiled to each other, nodded once, and then hugged. Then Rachel went over and told her family that they should get ready to leave.

Amber didn't really respond, but she followed everyone else out. She slowly mounted her horse and they all started for home.

Once on her horse Amber again seemed to be on auto pilot as she rode her horse home without looking or speaking to anyone else. Everyone else was talking about DJ having Archmage level magic and what it meant, but only Rachel appeared to notice how quiet her daughter was while she was lost in thought.

Reaching their home, everyone went inside and immediately set about doing their own thing. Rachel waited a good ten minutes before she climbed the stairs headed for her daughter's room.

This was the first time that she could remember that Amber had a boy problem. Rachel smiled as she looked back and realized that while early on she was extremely happy to hear that she was going to have a daughter. But once she was here, Amber never did any of the things Rachel wanted to do with her as a normal mother and daughter.

And it was hard to accept because as soon as she could hold a weapon Amber as out training with her father. And then as soon as she was found out to be a mage, she was training with Dusty. She never seemed to want to take out the time to just be a girl as Rachel had always hoped. Amber's sole dedication was to being the best Battlemage who ever lived.

But now that was all worthless in the face of the fact Amber had fallen hard for DJ and now had no frame of reference on how to act because she had never had to do this before. This was completely virgin territory for her daughter and for the first time Rachel felt she could share something else with her daughter as a mother besides the best way to fight.

All Amber's normal aggressiveness wouldn't work to help her purse this goal no matter how badly she wanted it to be. It was finally time for a little motherly advice to smooth the road.

Once Rachel reached the door she realized that it was half closed and she could see her daughter Amber sitting reverse in her desk chair, seated with her chin on the back of it, as she stared out the window. Knocking, Rachel opened the door the rest of the way, walked into the room, closed the door behind her, and then took a seat on the foot of Amber's bed.

Amber didn't even turn to acknowledge anything her mother did.

"Mom, why doesn't he like me? Boys have been pestering me for a long time to have sex with them. They have been grabbing and rubbing up against me every chance they got, but not him, DJ isn't like that. So why doesn't DJ like me the same way the other boys do? Why doesn't he want to do the same things with me that they do?" asked Amber quietly.

Rachel had waited while seated on the bed for a few moments waiting for Amber to speak. She knew she was right about what was going on and she was pretty sure what to do to help her daughter.

"Would you be willing to let him do all those same things to you if he really wanted to?" asked Rachel softly.

The slight nod "yes" of Amber head confirmed what Rachel already knew she was going to say.

"You really like him a lot don't you? Do you believe you might even be in love with him?" asked Rachel simply.

"Yes ... I mean ... I think so ... I mean... yes? Maybe? Oh, I ... I don't know, but I've been thinking a lot about him since he arrived. Is there something wrong with me? Why am I so unsure?" asked Amber quietly.

"So you would be ok if I told you that he was planning to leave right now? That he's in the middle of packing so he can go home tonight and once he's gone he's not ever going to return? If he wasn't around anymore to distract you, would that possibly help you not be so confused about how you feel?" asked Rachel quietly.

Amber lurched and looked over at her with wild eyes.

"Do you know something? Did Uncle Dusty or Suzan say something to you? He can't leave! Do you think he will? Why can't he stay here? Is he really going home? Do you think he'll leave me for good? Can you and Dad talk to him and get him to stay?!" asked Amber, with a touch of anxiety and desperation in her voice as her questions seemed like ramblings.

"No, but I doubt he is really leaving, but that should answer something for you. You already know that you really like him, so honestly you're not unsure about it at all are you? And as much as you do it is probably love. So now the question is "What do you have to do to get him to like you back like you like him?" Honestly admitting your part in this and facing it is your first step to getting your answers," said Rachel smiling at her daughter.

Shuffling closer to the foot of the bed, Rachel reached out and stroked her daughters head as she again rested her chin on the back and looked at her mother with unhappiness. Rachel hated to see her this way, but since she wasn't making progress on her own she finally decided to take a hand in it.

Rachel realized that Amber had never really had these feelings before and had no idea how to work them out. It wasn't a problem that she could solve with her fist or magic like she normally did.

"Honey, you like Dame Jolene right?" asked Rachel.

"Of course. I still go and check on her from time to time to make sure she is ok. She refuses to give up her bar, but she's doing well. We really liked having her here when she used to watch us," said Amber with a smile.

It was the first smile Rachel could remember seeing from her within the last week.

"Let me tell you what she told me when I wanted your father to notice me. In the case of your father, he was strong, handsome, and very popular. He had women coming out of the woodwork trying for his attention. I really wanted him to like me more than any of them, but I just couldn't get him to notice me. The first time I saw him he just smiled and nodded at me and went back to what he was doing.

"I was devastated. I mean, I had men trying to get me in bed since I was your age. While I've tried not to put any restriction on you, you know that I've always felt that you should be with someone who you believe you really love for your first time. Sometimes it works out for you both and sometimes it doesn't. But even if it doesn't, well, you'll at least have those fond memories of being in love even if the two of you do part.

"Now your father may feel the same way about your first time or he may not, I've never really asked, but right when I first met him I wanted him more than I had ever wanted any male in my life before. And as we're speaking, other than my first time I now can't really recall what it was like with a single other person but your father. Once I met him there was no other person I could ever really recall wanting as badly as I did him.

"Just so you know, I would have swallowed ground glass and walked around town naked if that meant he would be mine once I was finished. That's how badly I wanted him," said Rachel with a smile.

Amber seemed to be listening and giving her mother her complete attention. Rachel smiled at that. She really did want it to work out between her and DJ.

"So here I was, at a Tavern and your father was seated not that far away at a table with two other equally attractive women, and they were both trying to figure out a way to get your father to take them home separately for the night so they could have him all to themselves.

"While I watched they all eventually agreed to go home with him and then each taking turns being with him that night, much to my displeasure at their being close, not to mention over just having your father. I didn't want them to touch him ever," said Rachel.

"Dad did that? I mean he did things like that with other women?" asked Amber in shock.

She always saw her father as strong and capable, furiously loyal and carried a high sense of fidelity, but she never pictured him as a bed hopping playboy. He never gave her the impression that he ever noticed other women. It was hard to picture that her father was ever like that.

"Yes he did at that. You have to remember I would never ask about what he's done because that's a two way road. Somewhere along the way he may want to know what I've been up to as well, and right then for the life of me I was having problems remembering any of them at the time.

"One thing I would have to say, is that being with far fewer people definitely makes it far easier to keep track of who you've been doing," said Rachel as she winked and tilted her head, before she then smiled at Amber.

Amber got her second shock of the day.

Her mother had just admitted to her to be just as bad as her father, in so many words. Amber was still reeling from her own admission that she really liked DJ a lot, now this. Her parents were very experienced before they met and married each other.

"But it came to a head when he came to the counter where I was standing to get them a refill before they started their wild night together, a night I wasn't to be a part of I might add, and it was then that I saw the deep sadness in his face and heart. He wanted more from his life than this but he didn't know where to get it. I knew right then that I could be the perfect person to give it to him.

"So I stood by the bar and waited as he did what I hoped he would do and strike up a conversation with me. Through that conversation I expected him to start with me I planned to use that to get him to do what I wanted. I expected him to speak with me and to leave those other women at the table and bring me home with him. I mean it had worked so well in the past and I was ready for it to work again," said Rachel with a rueful smile.

Time seemed to drag as she sat and watched her daughter. Eventually Amber couldn't take it anymore and she spoke trying to get the rest of the story.

"So what happened?! What did you do to get Dad to notice you?! Did just standing there work?!" asked Amber excitedly

She was desperate to know if what her mother did would work for her.

"Well, as I said earlier he just smiled at me, said hi, and then he went right back to his table and continued what he was doing with those other women. That night he went right ahead with his plans and didn't seem to even know I was alive," said Rachel smiling ruefully again.

"Yea, that part sounds familiar," said Amber quietly under her breath as she rolled her eyes, but Rachel still heard her.

Rachel smiled at her daughter's response. She too had been where Amber was now.

"So there I stood, feeling pretty much like you do now, feeling stupid for not getting him to see me when so many others always so easily did, when Dame Jolene came up behind me. She asked me what I was doing. Why was I waiting for him to make the first move? Why did I feel it was it up to him to make me happy? What was wrong with me making the first move? Why didn't I take the chance to show I could make him happy first?

"At the time I had no idea who she was, but to truthful I had to admit to myself that I didn't want to make the first move because I didn't want to be rejected. Besides I was entirely used to and comfortable with men making the first move all the time, but she was right. She made me see that if I wanted your father "I" had to go get him. I had to show him that I had something he wanted, and so that's what I did," said Rachel with a smile.

"But how did you know it was going to work out?" asked Amber.

"I didn't, but I knew that I could be something that all the other girls weren't. I could be something your father needed and someone he could relate too. Your father was used to women who were all dainty and stay at home, but I wasn't that. I mean, I'm here with you kids, but I had also explored the world. I was used to going out and doing things. I was someone he could share experiences with and I would understand.

"That gave me a step up over the other women. They saw your father as someone to take care of them, take them to parties, do what they wanted, and in return they might be willing to directly raise his children, if they didn't pawn them off on a nanny first. But in me he saw someone who he wanted to share his life with, and someone who was interested in what made him who he was," said Rachel.

"But DJ and I have nothing in common. He comes from a different world," said Amber.