Chapter 23: Explanations of War

Introductions were made and most everyone was seated. They were short one chair. Pappy elected to lean against the wall rather than get an extra chair from his or BB's apartments in the barn. He wanted to know what was going on and wouldn't take a chance of missing something. Though he loved Sean, he still wasn't completely comfortable with this Wizard business and controlling the animals. Sean was sitting in a highchair beside Seth. Martha's motherly manner settled everyone and even comforted Ava to some extent.

"Udit," Seth said quietly. "I think you have some explaining to do."

Ava snorted in derision but it turned into another sob. Martha patted her on the shoulder while Sheila hugged her mother from the other side.

"Before he starts, we need to tell you what happened on the way back from the airport," Pete said.

"We were attacked by a Brujo," Ben said with a shiver.

Ava nodded tiredly in agreement that their current predicament should take priority and said, "We should address that first."

The five of them than were in the station wagon proceeded to explain what had happened as they left the airport.

"It was like someone else was driving my body. I didn't have any control," Ben said weakly. There was a note of fear in his voice that hadn't been there before.

"Udit, can you shed any light on what happened?" Seth asked.

"Yes I can. At least I think I can," Udit said in a resigned voice. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out before he continued. "It would be easier to explain if I tried to answer Avasa's questions first." At Seth's nod, Udit continued. "I knew Avasa's father since I was a boy. I met him at a powwow and he became my friend while we were growing up. He became my best friend when I started my training. He had been in training since birth."

Udit paused as the memories ran through his mind. "Asija sent me a message asking for my help and I couldn't go." Udit sighed again. "I had another task that I was, um, I was assigned. I had to finish that before I could go to him. I couldn't get to him before he was killed. I went after I finished my task to investigate but it was too late for Asija or John." Udit looked at Ava and said, "The council told me how angry you were, Avasa. I considered coming to you and trying to explain. After consideration, and with advice from the council, I decided not to come to you. I decided to allow you to have a focus for your anger rather than simply grieve. The council agreed and thought that it would be healthier for you."

The silence around the table was broken by BB when he said, "Grandfather, I love you and respect your wisdom. However, in this case, I think you need to give a full explanation of what your task was and why it was more important."

Udit started to say something but BB held up his hand to stop him from saying anything.

"I know you have gone places and done things in the past that you couldn't tell me about," BB said quietly. "I have respected your privacy but we are all family here. Sheila's mother is hurting because you couldn't respond when her father needed you. We have been attacked twice now, three times if we include the death of Sean's parents, and we expect to be attacked again. We need to know the truth. All of it," he demanded sternly.

Sean nodded and, in his little boy voice said, "He's right, Udit. They need to know and now would be the right time."

Ava, Abigail and Paul looked at the baby sharply. It was the first time since their arrival, other than an initial greeting, that the baby had interacted with the group. The greeting itself was startling because of the intensity of the baby's greeting. Also, Sean's statement was more than a agreement with BB. It was a decision that had been made and an order had been given.

Udit looked at Sean for a long moment before nodding his head in acceptance.

"We are at war," Udit said gravely and with resignation. "This war probably goes back to the beginning of mankind. Wizards, Mages are on one side of the battle. Warlocks, or Brujos are on the other side of the battle. Both sides have support from helpers that are, um, in tune with their goals. Asija, Ava's father, was a very minor Mage. He didn't have many powers and the one's he had were weak. His power was so weak that he didn't consider himself a Mage, but he was. He was born on the summer solstice and was fully aware from his first breath. That alone brands him a Mage."

Udit shook his head and said, "John didn't have any power or skills but he was Asija's local support. He was, ah, in training." Glancing at BB he said, "He was doing what I was preparing you for. You were to be my replacement." At BB's nod, Udit continued. "When necessary, and possible, I also supported Asija because he was my friend. I also assisted in John's training. John started training later in life so his progress was much slower than normal. John's training, or lack of training wouldn't have helped them when they were attacked. They didn't have a chance," he concluded bitterly.

Do you have any power of your own?" Seth asked. "You told us once that you didn't. I'd like to know if you told us the truth."

Udit looked at the baby and when Sean nodded Udit continued. "I don't have power that I can wield myself. I do have a skill that I learned so I can assist Magi. I can, um, I guess the best description of my skill is that I can store energy and release it to wizards when they need it. Wizards use energy when they talk to animals or grow a plant or call lightning or use whatever power they have. The energy they have available increases as they grow older. Their strength or intensity of their power stops increasing when they quit growing physically. The energy they have available in their bodies never stops growing. Some Wizards create artifacts to store energy to give them an edge when they go into battle. Anyway," Udit said with a shrug. "That's how I can help my Mage."

When no one said anything, Udit continued. "Others in our organization have other skills that can be used despite not having power ourselves. I called on a man from the Chippewa Tribe to help me when I investigated the traffic accident that killed Avasa's father and husband. He has a talent that allows him to detect when Wizard or Brujo power has been used if he gets to the site quickly enough. According to him, each Magi or Brujo has a unique taste to their power. He confirmed that a Brujo had caused the accident and he recognized the taste. That Brujo had caused accidents before. It his pattern." Udit took a deep breath before looking back at Sean. "I think it was the same Brujo that killed your parents Sean." He looked at Ben and said, "And he's probably the same one that attacked you today."

Sean hissed and the big pup sitting beside him growled, the rumbling deep in his chest.

"I haven't asked for help to make sure because too much time had passed before I found out about your parents," Udit explained to Sean. "Still, the Brujo that killed Ava's father and husband prefers auto accidents as a way to attack so I am pretty sure it was him. I will call for help tonight to have someone check at the airport. I want to know if he's the same Brujo."

"Udit, " Ava said plaintively. "Why didn't you come when dad sent for you?"

Udit sighed again and the anguish was clear in the sound and action. "I was tasked with finding another Brujo." He looked around the table before saying, "We have identified about two dozen Brujo's in North, Central, and South America. We kill them when we can but it's never an easy task. Even when they are outclassed with power, they have an animal cunning that often catches us by surprise. We had a report of wild animals destroying a village in Mexico. We know which Brujo favors that method but have never been able to trap him. We call him Taklishim or Grey One. We call him that because descriptions from survivors talk about a grey man."

Turning to Pappy, Udit said, "We think he's the same one that destroyed your village."

Pappy nodded and said, "The man that attacked our village did make me think of a grey man but I was never close enough to say why I felt that way." After a pause Pappy asked, "Did you kill him?" in his gravelly voice.

Shaking his head dejectedly, Udit replied, "He got away, again. We found where he attacked a hunting camp up in Montana about a year ago, but he got away again."

Pappy nodded and said, "Consider me part of your support structure and let me know when he hits again. He must leave a trail of some kind. Arriving soon after he leaves an area will give me a starting place to follow him."

Udit shook his head and said, "That would be very dangerous. He is strong in controlling animals and people. He has powers with air that make him very dangerous."

Pappy smiled at Udit but the grimace on his face didn't convey humor. "I learned something when the Brujo attacked us last week," Pappy said. "Anger, rage blocks their minds from ours. I have stoked my anger for over 50 years and that is my weapon against him. Get me to the area soon after he strikes and I will find a way to follow him. I will kill him."

Udit could only nod in agreement, preferring not to argue about it now. He liked Pappy and didn't want to see him die in a futile battle.

"You said there are about two dozen Brujos in the western hemisphere," Martha said. "How many Wizards are there?"

"We are working with fourteen right now," Udit admitted. "We know of three others that, because of the way they were raised, don't want any part of the war."

"That fourteen; does that include Sean?" Martha asked.

"Yes it does," Udit said tiredly. "My task, in addition to helping all of you, is to make sure he survives until after puberty. You see, it seems the Brujos are organizing better and are concentrating on killing Mages. The numbers on the opposing sides were pretty even until about 25 years ago. Then, our leaders started dying." He looked at Ava and said, "Your dad was one of the leaders we lost. Your dad's death was also what forced our council to tighten up our organization to protect our Wizards. That's part of my purpose here. I'm supposed to protect Sean from attacks. It's also part of the reason I didn't tell you all of this before. A phrase our warriors brought back from the war was, 'need to know'. If you don't need to know something about what we are doing then we don't tell you. We were too easy to attack when more people knew about what we were doing and why."

"I can understand that," Martha said while nodding. "Seth couldn't tell me things while he was at war. But, Udit, how can you help Sean? I thought you didn't have any powers," Martha protested.

"I don't, but I do have knowledge and skills that can help him," Udit explained. "Sean has the power to fight off any attacks that happen, if he can respond in time. However, he's young still and lacks the strength, ah, the energy to repel a prolonged attack. I can help in that way too by providing him with strength."

"So, what happens with Sean after puberty?" Seth asked.

"The way we are organized..." Udit shook his head and started again. "In our organization, the Magi are in charge. The more powerful the Mage, the higher in the command structure he, or she is."

"Isn't that pretty silly?" Martha asked. "Shouldn't wisdom or experience count for more than power as a Wizard?"

"In most human endeavors that would be true," Udit said slowly as he tried to find the words to explain. "Magi are not normal human's though. The power of a Wizard indicates their brain capacity or usage. They understand more. They see ramifications to action taken quicker. They can take unrelated bits of information and put them together so they make sense. Magi are better able to protect themselves and others in the organization. They are also more capable in planning successful attacks. They truly are more suited to lead."

"Okay," Seth said slowly. "Now for the $64,000 question. Where does Sean fit in this organization?"

"At the top," Sean said quietly.

Udit looked at Sean sharply before nodding and saying, "Sean is far more powerful than any other Magi, or Wizard, in the United States, Canada, or Mexico. There is another in South America that is close to Sean's power now but he's also fourteen years old. His power growth has already started slowing. Usually Wizards start slowing a in their late teens or early twenties. But, once they start slowing, their rate of power growth slows dramatically and will soon stop. Sean's power will continue to grow for the next seventeen to twenty years. How powerful will he be at sixteen years old, or at twenty? Think of Asija, Avasa's father, as a captain in our army. In fact, that is what he was in a way. Sean will be the general or commander in chief of our army."

Udit looked at Ava and Sheila. He looked at their hands clasping the others hands and BB's arm around Sheila's shoulder. "I'm sorry that I failed Asija but I didn't have a choice. I failed my best friend," he said. Udit sounded like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"You didn't have a choice and five years is a long time to gro ... gra ... grieve. You need to let the sadness go," Sean said in his high pitched, six month old voice that was somehow gentle at the same time. He looked at Ava and said, "They are at peace, Avasa. Remember the happy times with them but ral ... release the sadness."

He raised his hand and a flood of warmth flowed through everyone in the room.

Udit's face and shoulders relaxed and he settled back in his chair in relief.

Ava relaxed too, obviously releasing some of the pain that she held in her heart for too long.