Chapter Fifteen
Justin sat back in his chair and waited for the mages to comprehend what he had just said. It only took 10 seconds for their reactions to show on their faces. "That's impossible." Art stammered." "It can't be done," bellowed Oaklie. "No," said Cora.
Justin looked at each of them as they spoke and didn't blink. When his eyes found Philip's, he was shocked to see a smile on his face. "Yes, I think that is an excellent idea." The other mages stopped their tirades and looked at him. "You think it is an excellent idea?" Oaklie spoke in barely a whisper. "How did you come to that conclusion, brother?"
Philip looked around, uncomfortable as though he just realized that he would have to talk to be able to explain himself. Still, he squared his shoulders and continued. "You all know as well as I that no ordinary human would have been summoned by our spell. It was too powerful a summons to affect the average person from any world. The person would have to be special in order for the spell to work. That indicates that he probably has an innate ability to understand and perform magic, just like us. If that is the case, then we owe it to him to try and teach him."
The other three mages looked sheepishly at Justin as though ashamed for not telling him the whole truth. "I see." Justin's words came out hard and sharp. "Art, didn't you want me to know the truth of the situation and the summons. Yet you were willing to overlook the fact that my being here indicated that I could possibly perform magic. Your response to my request should not have been 'That's impossible' if you knew that it was very much possible. I am afraid that unless you teach me magic, you will get no help from me. I can not be the help to you that you need unless I can completely trust you. As it stands, the only way I see that happening is if you teach me how to be a mage."
"But…" Art only got out a single word before Justin cut him off. "When I know what you know, then I can use the knowledge that I already have to come up with the answers you need."
Art was shaking his head the whole time he spoke. "We could let you be one of our apprentices if you prove to have the ability to learn magic, but there is only so much magic in the world. In order for you to become a full mage, one of us, or one of our brothers, would have to give up their position as a mage so you could take their place. There can be many apprentices, and many people can perform magic, but to become a full mage, one mage must give his position up."
Justin considered Art's words for a moment before he spoke. "Fine. I do not want to take your jobs from you. But I do want to be your apprentice. I want to learn as much as I can about magic and the workings of your world so I can better help in solving this problem."
Justin didn't tell them that he also had selfish reasons for wanting to learn magic. If he was going to be stuck in this world for an extended period of time, he would make the most of it and make this a true adventure. Every good adventure story that he had ever read involved a magician, and he had always found them compelling. Besides, if he was able to do magic, even if it was just as an apprentice, then for once in his life, he would be cool. No, he would be more than cool. He would be EPIC!
To add extra emphasis to his point, he continued. "Unless you want to tell the king that you have no answer to give him and will most likely have no answers in the near future. Will he be forgiving about that?" As soon as he spoke that last sentence, he felt horrible. That was a low blow, and he knew it. He opened his mouth to apologize when Cora spoke.
"You are correct, Justin. We need your help, and we brought you here without your consent. We have no room to make demands, let alone bargain. We will teach you magic as long as you do not tell the king that we are doing so. It would be too hard to explain why we are doing it without mentioning the summoning spell."
Art looked at Cora and then at the other two mages. "Will you keep our secrets, Master Justin?"
Justin let out a shaky breath and relaxed in his seat. "Yes, if you will teach me magic, then I will not only help you with your problem, but keep the secret of your summoning spell between the princess and us. I am afraid it is too late to keep it from her. "
Justin didn't tell them that he would never have betrayed them to the king for anything. Even in his anger at being brought here potentially permanently, he would not risk them losing their lives when what they were doing was in service to the king.
Art nodded once and then reached for Justin's hand. "Then we are in agreement, and we will seal it with a shake." Cora, Oaklie, and Philip are our witnesses to this agreement, and it is as binding as any blood oath. If we do not teach you magic, barring you being able to learn it, then we will have broken the oath, and we will forfeit our right to live. If you tell the king about our summons and that we are teaching you magic, you will also forfeit your life. Do you agree?"
Justin was not expecting the oath to be a life oath, but he saw no way to backtrack now. He just had to be extra careful that he did not tell the king about the magic or the spell that brought him here.
Stretching out his hand, he firmly took Art's and shook it one time in agreement. A beam of bright white light shot from their hands in what must have been the sealing of the oath. Justin knew that no matter what, the deal had been made, and he must live up to it or die because of it.
He prayed he would do the former.
As the white light dissipated, he was faced with 3 mages of varying degrees of unease on their faces. Only Philip appeared to be calm and relaxed. Justin was extremely interested in getting to know him, perhaps more than any of the other mages. Even though Justin was sure that Art was the designated leader, he felt that Philip had a presence about him that the others didn't have. It was almost like, because he spoke so seldom, that when he did speak, they all wanted to listen.
Yes, Justin felt that it would do him good to learn from this quiet mage.