An Immortal's Favour

Jack- Books, Books, and More Books

*

Everything Gale had ever mentioned about casting that I could remember, anything in The Guide that seemed even remotely useful, I jotted down into a notebook. The afternoon drew to a close, and I'd filled ten pages with near-illegible scribbles and thoughts. Looking back, most of it made almost no sense, but everything was still fresh in my head and waiting for Mother to come back was a task that strained my patience.

When she returned, I gave her a chance to sit and asked her about her day, jigging my leg up and down to release some of my pent up excitement. Mother answered absently, reaching in her bag to bring something out. Into my hands, she pushed some papers.

"What are these?"

"Fliers. For casters."

The posters were bright and colourful, most of them advertising numerous elemental casters all over the city. I searched through the lot, and found, at last, a flier that would prove useful.

"While you were at work, I looked through The Guide again and wrote a few things down. I think our best bet would be to find an illusion caster," I said.

"Why an illusion caster?"

"Think about it." I handed my notebook to Mother, who wrinkled her nose as she peered at the words in it. "Nothing about Father's behaviour adds up with what everyone back in Anglia has said to us. Say, hypothetically, he had a chance encounter with an illusion caster and he did something to provoke them, who's to say they didn't feel inclined to punish him a little? Let's be honest, how would any of this be Father's fault if he was all the way in Anglia?"

Mother screwed her eyebrows in thought. "What you're saying seems a little far-fetched. And illusion casters are so rare. Even if your father did meet one, what are the chances of him upsetting them to the point that they'd retaliate in a horrible way? He's rather likable, your father."

"I know, but right now, we have something."

"I'm still unsure."

"Look." Holding my chosen flier out before me, I looked on with a neutral expression. "I'll find this illusion caster and ask him some questions. Maybe it'll take us somewhere."

"Just be careful. There are many believers in the old ways, but you can never tell who's false. There's no guarantee this man here," she paused to gesture at the poster, "knows anything at all. And with him claiming to be an illusion castor of all things, I only become more doubtful."

She was right.

After visiting the 'caster' the following morning, I realised he knew nothing in the slightest; all the man did was pull old, simple tricks that even a child could've done. I clutched at my wallet, wondering if there was any point in seeking anyone else out. I decided against it, and instead took the tram from the north-east suburbs into the heart of the city, to our City Library.

The air inside the library was stuffy and humid, smelling- unsurprisingly -of old, dusty books. I lingered around the history section, where I was most likely to find what I was looking for. There were plenty of books about magic, casting and the how they were used, so I checked out five and left the library with a renewed sense of purpose.

The books weren't thick, and with nothing else to do in the house, I'd gotten through a couple of them by the end of the day. Mother had also offered to read some of them as well, and over the next three days, between the both of us, all of the books were finished. But, with a heavy heart, I understood why they had been so thin. First off, all of the books were ridiculously vague. And, despite the fact that they did attempt to explain casting- unlike The Guide, which served more as a collective biography of immortals than anything else -they couldn't even explain elemental casting, the most common of all the casting types, in detail. And don't get me started on the illusion, fortune and spiritual classes; there were so many conflicting ideas regarding those that Mother and I nearly gave up on the books altogether. I suppose with them being the oldest of the bunch in City Library, there was no hope with anything newer, especially if they'd used books like these as references. And to check, I flicked through some in the library when I went back to return the books I'd borrowed earlier.

"Didn't find what you were looking for?" The librarian asked, taking the books into his weathered hands.

"You could say that."

"What books are you after?"

"Anything that can explain casting properly. How it works." The librarian smiled.

"In this town? No wonder you're looking; hardly anyone here is interested in this stuff anymore. Most of the casting books have been thrown out now."

"Really? I saw plenty of them."

"Believe me, there were a lot more. But the library cleared them out to make way for the more science-oriented material."

"Oh. Well thanks, anyway." I made to leave but was stopped after being addressed again.

"I remember a visit to one of the coastal towns by Guawae Beach, Zantan I think." The librarian chuckled, reaching past me to gather some books from another visitor's hands. "Are you checking these out, miss?"

"No, returning."

The girl thanked him and walked out, doing a double take as she went past me. I offered her a brief smile in return.

"Anyway, to continue, it's a pretty, little place. Have you ever been?"

"Once," I answered politely, waiting for him to carry on.

"Very traditional, that town. Probably one of the only places left in the country where believing in the old ways is the norm."

"Oh," I said, dragging the word out and catching his drift.

"Hm." Pulling out a piece of paper, the old man wrote something down. "These shops should be useful if you feel up to a bit of travelling."

"Thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am for this." Grinning and thanking the librarian, I left and hoped that, this time, I wouldn't wind up at another dead end.

Mother towered over one of the maids, her thin hands placed menacingly over her hips as she glowered down at the poor girl, just as I came through the front door. Shards of a broken vase littered the floor as Dora swept at them frantically. Upon seeing me, Mother placed a hand on my back and guided me away, into her office.

"They've approved!" She rounded on me with a small smile, holding a letter in her hand. "I can start selling a new line of frozen food products in Guanma. And guess what?"

"What?"

"You know that supermarket, Baily's, the Mernian one?"

"Mm."

"They're the ones that agreed! Now, all I have to do is brave through a few meetings with them and get to talking with some of the other supermarket representatives, and we'll have made it in the south!"

"So fewer meetings?"

"A few less, yes." She even laughed a little. "Now say what it is that you want to say."

"Me?"

"Go on!" Mother waved both hands at me impatiently. "You were smiling like a madman when you got here."

"Read this."

Taking the note from me, she lifted her detachable glasses up, their crystal chain shining as it dangled through the air. "Jack, this is wonderful! And I can pick these books up for you, too. Oh, before I forget, have you talked to Immortal Gale yet?"

"Ah," I murmured, licking my lips. "No, I haven't."

Focusing on me with a look of slight disappointment, Mother instructed, "Make sure that you do. I want to know that you'll be in the house long enough for me to get the books to you."

"Alright. But I suppose Gale's having so much fun she's forgotten all about me."

*

Discussion: Jack's getting there, little by little. What do you expect from the next chapters based on all that's happened so far?

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