4.The Serpent's Caster (ManxBoy)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

I blinked a bit confused. How had I even made the choice? Circumstance chose for me to be honest and as I sat there thinking it over, I had no regret because I was happy to have Fraden, I felt bad I robbed Mr. Jackson of his happy ending but, I was happy with what I had already.  Theodore's gaze became sad and he looked down.

"There is a lot you want to know, and I couldn't even begin to explain it properly without getting a bit emotional." Theodore took a deep breath. "It never lied to you." I furrowed my brows, how quickly he moved  on from the topic of my destined lovers. "You are 8 000 years old."

"What?" Mr. Jackson stared, "that's impossible." He snorted, he still looked shaken up but I had the feeling he was choosing to forget about us for now.

"It's very possible, however..." Theodore swallowed. "Something happened and you were reincarnated." I tilted my head not following. "Your soul and consciousness is still 8 000, but the lock and key spell that was meant to be placed on you, wasn't."

"Look, I'm going to need you to start from the beginning because I am not following." Theodore blushed and looked down.

"Right, I'm sorry, I'm in a bit of a rush." He chuckled, "You are a part of Caster's Council which was formed by Elijah over 10 000 years ago. We, you, myself and a few others, were given a chance to live our lives the way we never could. The decision was made years ago. The plan was to do what we never could, to find love and explore it happily," he glanced at Mr. Jackson. "To keep the world from ending."

"Ending?" The story seemed too far fetched, almost too dramatic. He gave a nod.

"A great evil was threatening to rise because we had grown to be cruel and unforgiving." He sighed, "we denied ourselves the pleasure of human experience and that was contributing to a greater darkness."

"I'm sorry," I began as I blinked hard and took a deep breath. "I am having a hard time believing you right now." I wondered if I knew his Elijah, the one who began the council.

"It is a lot to take in, but that it okay," he chuckled. "You don't even need to know all of this, you can go on with your life without knowing the fact that you are actually one of the most powerful Caster's of existence." I snorted, he obviously didn't know me because I was far from powerful.

"Okay, look, you obviously don't know me enough because I am far from powerful."

"I know you very well, Linus," he stared at me fondly. I blinked at him and shook my head.

"Stop that!" I told him and he tilted his head to the side. "Just, stop looking at me like that." He flushed and looked down.

"I'm sorry, force of habit. Now," he sat forward. "you may not believe it, but, I meant what I said, you are very powerful, otherwise you wouldn't be part of the Caster's Council," he began waving his hands over the table. "Exploria." He mumbled and a small chest appeared before him, I looked at it then back at him before sitting forward feeling excitement rush towards me. "By now, I assume you found out that you are a dark caster, to some extent that gives you a lot of limitations."

"Limitations?"

"You can do anything you want...even the most forbidden of things which is why you end up on a clock." I tilted my head as I listened carefully. "You can't do magic for too long without exhausting your mind and body, the bigger the spell the longer the recuperation process."

He held up a pendant with an black gem, it glinted as the sun hit the surface. As I stared at it, I felt drawn to to like it called to me.

"This...is yours," he held it out to me. "You used to call it exploria, I don't know why." He smiled at me as I glanced between him and the piece of jewelry. "It holds all of your magic along with all the magical essence you had collected from others." His brows furrowed suddenly then and shook his head. "Making it wasn't easy, but, you managed to give it life." I took hold of it and felt a pulsing force coming from it.

"I made it?" I asked.

"You gave it value," he chuckled, "I remember buying it for you, for Valentine's day," I looked at Theodore and he smiled shyly.

"You got it for me?" He nodded.

"At the time you were using this ring you picked off of some stranger, I thought if you were going to use anything to channel your magic, it had to be a bit more sentimental." Theodore stood then and gave an awkward chuckle.

I stood then clutching the pendant.

"Thank you for this," I told him holding it to my chest. He blushed and nodded. "I do need another favour though." He blinked at me. "I need help getting Fraden and I would like some help learning how to use my magic a bit more."

"Well, I can only help with one of those." I bit my lip.

"Please tell me its the Fraden part." I said pursing my lip and he shook his head.

"I cannot interfere in this matter." He told me. "Not only has the council asked me to replace Elijah... I...don't see how I could make a difference in their decision."

"Did you accept their offer?" He sighed.

"I wasn't really given much of a choice." He said bitterly as he headed for the door.

"Then you can vote for them to let him go." He paused and looked at me.

"One vote won't make much of a difference, will it?" I felt the anger and disgust I felt from the moment the council decided to take Fraden from me resurface.

"Then I will kill every single one of them." Theodore smirked.

"I don't doubt that you would... But tell me, then what? Some of them may not even care to keep Fraden, they have families, lives outside of the Council perhaps. Are you ready to deal with not only the guilt of robbing family's of their loved ones, but also the anger they may house for you at which they may use to lash out? Are you prepared for that?" I felt my eyes drop to the ground as he made me think of it.

I seethed to my self.

"If you won't help me, then fine. Don't help me, but don't try and play on my morals to get your way." I ended up storming into the kitchen, thankfully it was empty as I seethed by myself. I gripped the pendent in my hand and raised it to eye level.

Feeling rather determined, I decided to throw all caution to the wind. I would do what ever it took to get Fraden back and I don't care who I had to step on to do that. I began to put the necklace around my neck and I felt a wave of energy rush through me. I felt enriched with power. I raised my hand and tilted my head to the side as purple coloured  mist formed around my hand in a wiggling motion.

I may not have been as ready as I wanted, but I wouldn't let that stop me from getting to my man.