The Unsuspecting Mage (2 page)

“That is different, I’ll give you that,” affirms Dave as he hands the ad back.

Putting the ad in his wallet, James asks, “What do you think?”

Pausing for a moment to think while he finishes a mouthful of food, Dave replies, “Well, it is right down your alley. You have read more books than I could even hope to get through, and we play D&D every once in a while. Maybe you should look into it. You’ve always said you would like to travel and see the castles of England, maybe this will be your chance. It sounds like some traveling magician or something like that.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I’ll go down tomorrow and see what it’s about. If nothing else, it should please my grandfather and maybe get him off my back, at least for a day or two.” Taking another bite of his hoagie, James ponders the ad, thinking it might be worth looking into.

Pointing off to the right Dave says, “There’s Alyssa. You should go invite her to the dance next week. I know you have a thing for her.”

James takes a brief glance her way and sighs. “I haven’t quite worked up the nerve yet. I’ve tried twice, but my mouth gets all dry and I can’t find the words. I’m afraid I’ll look like an idiot.”

“You need to get out of that room of yours more. Stop spending so much time in there alone with your books and start living a little more in reality. She’s nice and I believe still available.”

“I know. Maybe I’ll ask her on Monday.”

“If you ask her at all.” Dave’s attempts to bring him out of his room have met with very little success, but he keeps trying.

Once they have finished eating, the boys leave the lunch room and make their way over to the chess room where they spend the rest of their lunch break role playing. James is usually the one running the game since he enjoys making the campaigns more than Dave does. Back in his bedroom he has a whole collection of campaigns that have never been played. He likes designing them almost more than playing them.

Dave on the other hand prefers to be the character, or characters such as what he is doing today. He’s playing a thief and a mage who are currently trying to find the third ring of Xanak, the god of fire.

James sets up his godwall and removes the dice and papers from his backpack. He always keeps meticulous notes during his campaigns. Dave gets his papers, dice, and the player’s rulebook ready as well. Once everything is ready, they begin.

“Your mage and thief had infiltrated the Red Rogue’s Lair,” he begins giving a brief recap of where they left off the day before. “You had just found a flight of stairs and were beginning to descend.”

“On to fame and fortune!” Dave exclaims with a grin. “My thief is checking for traps as they go down the steps.”

James nods. “No traps were found. Upon reaching the bottom step, you discover a long hallway stretching far into the darkness ahead. A sound can be heard coming from out of the dark, and it seems to be coming toward you…”

The rest of the day goes along pretty much as usual; classes, including the dreaded PE class that he is on the verge of flunking. He simply is not much into sports or anything else that requires one to sweat. His gym teacher tells him he needs to show more enthusiasm for the physical side of life, but his teacher’s arguments do nothing to sway him in that direction. It’s not that James is fat or anything, he actually appears quite fit. He just doesn’t go for that sort of stuff.

After school at the bike rack, Dave informs him that he plans on accompanying him to the interview. For moral support, as he puts it.

“You don’t have to come with me, you know.”

“I know. But you stand a better chance of following through if I do.”

James secures the chain beneath the bike seat then glances to his friend. “Are you afraid I am going to chicken out or something like that?”

At dinner, he tells his grandparents about his decision to go to the interview.

“Now remember, James,” his grandfather says, “when you are at an interview you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. Never settle for conditions that you are not going to like. Be assertive.”

James nods his head. “I will. I don’t plan on making any decisions on the spot. I am simply going there to find out about the job and how much it pays. It sounds interesting.”

Showing concern on her face, his grandmother says “Be careful while you’re there. The last place anyone saw poor Seth was heading into town. Watch yourself.”

“Please don’t worry about me, I’m almost eighteen. Plus, Dave plans on coming with me. I’m sure that between the two of us, we’ll be able to handle any situation.” Knowing that it is love that prompted his grandmother’s concern, he gives her a reassuring hug.

“Now what?” he mumbles. Slipping his bookmark within the pages, he sets the book on his nightstand and makes his way out to the living room. There he finds his grandparents raptly watching the news.

“Another person is missing,” his grandmother says. “This time a girl”

Interest piqued, James sits next to her on the couch.

An image of a young woman who looked to be in her teens was pictured behind the reporter. The news reporter goes on to say that this is the second person who has come up missing in the past week. There are no leads, no connection between them. They come from different cities in the same area and how both just up and disappeared without a trace. The report continues with interviews of family members of the two missing people.

“This is getting serious.” his grandfather says. “You need to be extra careful tomorrow when you’re downtown.”

“I will,” James assures him. He watches the report on the missing teens until the reporters begin repeating themselves. Then he returns to his room where he resumes his position upon his bed and picks up his book.

He found it difficult to concentrate on the story. After realizing he read the same paragraph three times he decides that it’s a lost cause and returns the book to the nightstand. Thoughts and worries about the interview tomorrow make him far too nervous to be able to concentrate on reading. The ad continues running through his mind,

…
well versed in fantasy novels and role playing games…

…
may need to travel…

It sounded exciting.

Maybe Dave was right. It could be a traveling magician.

Different theories and thoughts run through his mind until it’s time to undress for bed. After crawling beneath the covers, he sets the alarm for seven thirty before switching off his reading lamp. He lies in the dark, enjoying the cool air as it drifts in through the window above his bed. Eventually, sleep triumphs over tomorrow’s worries and he’s able to fall asleep.

It felt like he no sooner fell asleep than his alarm went off. Hitting the off button, he rolls onto his back and tries unsuccessfully to keep his eyes open. He is simply way too comfortable and almost doesn’t have the energy to pull the covers off and get the day going. His sense of responsibility eventually overcomes his laziness and he manages to drag himself out of bed. Also, Dave would never let him hear the end of it if he left him waiting at the bus stop.

After a quick shower, he throws on some of his better clothes. Not his church clothes to be sure, but ones good enough to look nice. Once he’s dressed, he takes his backpack and empties his role playing paraphernalia onto his bed.
I’ll clean this up when I get back
. He puts a clean handkerchief in his backpack along with the book he’s currently reading. Pausing a moment, he decides to take the two candy bars that are lying in the pile on his bed and places them inside as well. Shouldering his ever present backpack, he opens the door and goes out to see about breakfast.

Sausage, eggs and biscuits are already on the table. His grandparents had been nice enough to wait for him before eating. “My, don’t you look nice,” his grandmother says.

Coming to the table, he gives her a grin. “Thanks. I better eat on the run, or I might miss my bus.” He throws together two sausage, egg, and biscuit sandwiches. Wrapping them in a napkin, he heads for the back door. His grandmother’s “Good luck, James!” follows him through the door.

He hurries down the road to the bus stop where he’ll catch the 512 and manages to finish his breakfast before arriving. Dave is already there, waiting.

“Good morning,” offers a cheerful Dave. He’d always been a morning person, which usually irritated James.

“Good morning yourself,” growls James somewhat moodily. He definitely was not a morning person.

Keeping an eye out for the bus, Dave says, “I hear they have a new laser tag area at the arcade. Wanna try it after your interview? The loser pays for lunch.”

“You’re on, I can almost taste the burgers now,” boasts James as he, too, keeps a lookout for the 512. When he sees it turn the corner he announces, “Here it comes.” Picking up his backpack he readies to board the bus. The 512 pulls up and they have to wait a moment while an elderly woman departs before they can get on. Showing the driver their passes, they move to the back of the bus and take their seats. The 512 will take them most of the way before they’ll need to transfer to the 33 for the last leg to Commercial Avenue.

When the bus pulls out of the stop, Dave glances to James. “Nervous?”

“A little. I’m glad you decided to come along; it’s partly the reason I am even here. When I woke up this morning, all I wanted to do was lay there. But knowing you were going to be at the bus stop waiting for me helped get me out of bed.”

“I thought so, that’s why I’m here,” Dave grins. He’s glad that he could help his friend.

“You know,” Dave begins after a few minutes, “you didn’t have to go and kill my thief that way.”

Feigning indignation, James asks, “What do you mean? Is it my fault the guy had an IQ of a turnip? He never should’ve rushed in like that. He was greedy.”

“Maybe. But I’ve been playing him for over a month now. He was all the way to level five.”

“Oh well, that’s life.”

As they get closer, James turns quieter as he dwells more upon the upcoming interview. Dave makes a couple attempts to get him interested in further conversation but his mind really isn’t on it. Finally, Dave gives up and they ride the rest of the way in silence.

When the Park and Ride is announced where they need to transfer to the 33, James grabs his backpack and pulls the cord. When the bus pulls in, they disembark and go over to a nearby water fountain for a drink.

Dave glances at his watch. “About five minutes before the 33 shows up.”

The 33 does a loop through downtown and passes right down Commercial Ave. Going over to Berth 4 where they will board, James and Dave stand in line behind several other passengers. Dave nudges James when he sees a pretty girl wearing short shorts and a snug t-shirt, but James is too preoccupied with what lies ahead to pay much attention. The mere thought of the interview is making his stomach do flip-flops.

Once the 33 arrives, they board and take the last leg to Commercial Ave. Had James been alone, he would have stayed on the bus. But since Dave is there, he pulls the cord when a tall building bearing the numbers 1616 comes into view.

The bus pulls to the curb at the next stop half a block away. Butterflies were congregating in James’ middle as he steps to the sidewalk and turns toward 1616 Commercial.

Dave slaps him on the shoulder. “Come on. It won’t be that bad.”

James gives him a half-hearted grin and nods. The butterflies in his stomach were turning into vampiric bats.

Passing through the front door, they cross the lobby en route to the elevators and Dave presses the
UP
button. While they wait, Dave notices James looking at the building’s list of businesses. When he moves to join his friend, James glances at him,

“There’s no listing for 2334.”

Dave shrugs and says, “Maybe they just moved in and haven’t had time to get the sign adjusted.”

“You’re probably right. Or maybe they don’t want to advertise who they are. That way if they are well known and rich, the applicants won’t know to ask for more pay.”

Shaking his head, Dave says, “You and your conspiracy theories. You always think someone is playing an angle or something.”

Shrugging, James just smiles.

Ding!

The elevator door opens and they enter along with several others. James presses the button for the 23
^rd
floor. It takes a few minutes before they arrive as the elevator makes several stops to allow people on and off. By the time they reach the 23
^rd
floor, they are the only ones remaining. Another
Ding!
and the door opens. Stepping out, they turn down the hallway to their right and come to the door marked 2334.

James pauses at the door. He turns to Dave. “Should I knock or what?”

“Naw, just go on in.”

Marshalling his courage, James opens the door and enters. Dave follows right behind. The room is empty except for several chairs and two end tables, each boasting a neat pile of magazines and a couple books. Across the room a door stands closed; it bears a sign saying
Private
in bold letters.