Rescued

Chapter Four

I went back next day after breakfast. Bart didn't forget about me, and gave me a big smile when I walked in. He motioned me to follow him without saying anything, and I did. We went to the back of the building. There was a door that lead to what I thought was a basement. I looked at him and he explained.

"This is where I will train you. " I nodded and followed him down the stairs.

He lit a few candles as I examined the room. It was spacious, but dirty. It looked like it hasn't been used for years.

"It hasn't been used for years"

Bart said and I laughed. I looked around some more. There were several bookshelves next to the walls, a table with chairs, a fireplace, a dusty rug, and an entrance to another room that I hadn't noticed before.

"What's in there?"

I asked, pointing at the small door.

"The rest of the house. This was my teacher's place, before he died."

His face twitched involuntarily when he spoke. I didn't want to talk to him about this. I saw and heard about enough pain and suffering, I didn't want to hear anymore.

"So what will you teach me?"

I asked, wanting move on to a topic I was more comfortable with.

"We will start off easy: basic offensive skills, and some defensive abilities that every warlock should know."

I felt excited. I couldn't believe I was actually getting what I wanted.

"Now, before we begin I want you to know, that warlocks are dealing with shadow and fire based magic. Unlike Mages, we do not attempt to dispose of a target from a safe distance. Most warlocks are cruel by nature, and enjoy inflicting pain to their victims while our minion is engaging the target. Magic mastery is also about manipulating energies, and elements of this world to work for you. As warlocks, we go farther than any other class in that sense. While mages are extremely powerful in gathering elements such as water and fire, their abilities are limited. They conjure, not summon. They do not have abilities to enslave."

I listened to him without any interruptions; I knew that what he was saying was important to understand. He continued.

"We can summon creatures to serve us. A warlock binds the will of the demon, making it incapable of living without a master. Some hate that, but there is nothing the demon can do while the warlock has control. That's why it's so dangerous. Some demons feel a connection, and want to serve you. But we'll get more into that later. Right now I want to see how much raw magic you have in you."

"Alright" I replied. I was sure I had it in me.

Bart was like a completely different person today. He was calm, his voice exuded confidence and power. He asked me a bunch of questions, about magic, and my heritage, and I lied about some parts, not wanting to get into conversation about my mom being a warlock. Then he told me several different incantations that I had to read out loud, and draw rune patterns on the floor. I was weird stuff, but he explained everything to me as we went along. By lunchtime, he seemed satisfied by my progress, and said that I'm quite talented. He gave me a book, and asked me to read a chapter on different magic elements that warlocks use. I found it fascinating, and didn't even notice that Bart left. I heard footsteps outside the door and looked up. Bart was standing in the doorway with a basket of food. He smiled and asked me if I was done. I nodded and went over to him to peek in the basket. He reached in and took out a piece of grilled boar meat and handed it to me.

"Thanks! I was getting really hungry."

He smiled at me, and replied:

"I know. You've been working hard today. I have some things to take care of upstairs, so I'll give you some more reading material for today. You can stay here if you like. You don't have to go back to the inn - I know it's crowded there."

I was surprised. I smiled at him.

"Thanks, Bart"

I said sincerely. I was so happy not to go back there again. Everyone's sadness and despair was too much for me to handle in the evening. Bart nodded and pulled out a few books from the shelf. He bookmarked the right chapters for me to read and without another word he left. After I finished eating, I looked around the house. It wasn't much, but I loved it.

I went back to reading, but Bart didn't leave me much, so I was done in a few hours. I ate again, thinking of Bart, and wondering what he was doing upstairs. I wanted to go see but I didn't want to be annoying or nosy. I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the house. When Bart came back, I was about to go to bed. He knocked on the door and I let him in. He was pleasantly surprised at what I did with the place; I could see it in his face. He didn't say anything though. I looked at him closer and noticed that he was acting all weird again. I asked him if he was all right.

"Just tired, I guess."

He shrugged, but relaxed a little nevertheless. His minion was behind him again like yesterday.

"You settled in alright? I brought you some clothes - I figured you would probably like to have a robe or two."

"Thanks Bart."

I took the dark cherry red linen robes he passed to me.

"Good night, Elli."