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Stephen sighed and glanced over at Wong. "Smooth."
"I'm sorry, Stephen. I know you are anxious to find a pupil…"
"I think 'anxious' is a bit of an exaggeration-"
"But all it would take is a basic knowledge of magic, and she could unleash who knows what from the Dark Dimension."
Stephen felt his pride flare up. "Even with my guidance?"
"You've never trained anyone before. You have no idea of the difficulties involved."
"I've trained many residents in neurosurgery."
Wong stiffened. "Training a doctor to cut open the human body is not the same as training someone in the mystic arts."
Actually, Stephen could find a lot of parallels, but chose to focus on the task at hand. "When you say I shouldn't train Joanna in the mystic arts, how serious are you at enforcing that decree? Say, on a scale of one to ten…"
Wong glowered. "This is not a joke."
"No, it certainly isn't. This woman just lost her entire family to tragedy, and here we are debating whether that same dark entity is somehow a part of her DNA."
That silenced Wong.
But Stephen didn't stop. "She also has no place to live."
"I never said she couldn't reside here. The Sanctum is not only for those trained or apprenticing in the mystic arts. It has always been a place of refuge for anyone who needs it."
"Well, it'll be a miracle if she decides to stay now."
Wong moved away from the Dark Gem, seeming to take a leisurely stroll through the relics, but Stephen could tell by the look on Wong's face that he was absorbing Stephen's words. Under normal circumstances, Stephen would have given Wong's advice about training Joanna the inherent respect his position deserved, but Stephen couldn't shake the feeling Wong was wrong. Especially since the cloak had brought Joanna to him.
Wong halted in front of the Mirror of Morgan le Fay. "This thing still broken?"
Stephen shrugged. "Seems to be."
"Did Joanna see it?"
"Yeah. She didn't see anything except darkness."
Wong appeared thoughtful as he gazed at the mirror. "Maybe in her case, it actually showed her the past. The Dark Dimension is…"
"Dark?" Stephen finished.
Silence fell between the two sorcerers. Mid-morning sunlight streamed through the Seal of Vishanti in glittering rays that caught the dust motes of the relic room. Stephen closed his eyes, searching for Joanna, and found her seated inside the Shangri La room. He reached for her aura, the light surrounding her body that housed her spiritual energy, her emotions, and felt only pain.
"What if I did a mind seek with Joanna?" Stephen blurted out.
Wong eyes went wide. "You want to go inside that woman's head and read every one of her memories?"
"Since you're so convinced she's somehow the spawn of the Dark Dimension, it doesn't sound unreasonable to me."
Wong studied him, as if trying to do his own mind seek on Stephen. "I believe you've made your point. I should have been more empathetic."
"You misunderstand me. I'm being completely serious."
"Then you're insane."
"It would tell us what we need to know…"
"And you think what I did was terrible…"
Stephen felt himself getting irritated. "The Cloak of Levitation chose her. You yourself said the cloak has good instincts. And I would never do a mind seek on anyone without their permission. What kind of monster do you think I am?"
Wong grunted in answer, but Stephen wouldn't back down.
"It's the only way you're going to find out the truth."
Stephen dangled that nugget in front of Wong, but the older man wouldn't take the bait. Wong shook his head emphatically. "If she is who I believe her to be, it's too dangerous. You would be swept under a current of all the emotions running through her subconscious, and if she is from the Dark Dimension-"
"You think I can't handle the Dark Dimension? I was inside that place for a long time, remember?" Stephen smiled thinly. "Oh, wait. You don't remember because you were frozen in time."
A sour look from Wong. He turned to leave by way of the stairs. No portals for him when there was a perfectly good doorway to use. "I know you, Stephen. I know you won't heed my advice once your stubborn mind is set. Do what you feel you need to do."
Stephen wasn't sure he would attempt the mind seek at all. He certainly wasn't going to bring it up to Joanna when she was so close to running away from him again. "I'll keep my options open," was all he said.
"Only don't train her."
He gave Wong an innocent smile. "Who me? I don't even have an extra sling ring."
Wong waved a hand as if to dismiss Stephen's words, and trudged down the stairs. Stephen couldn't even hear a footfall from the sorcerer as he left, but he waited until he no longer felt Wong's presence inside the Sanctum before heading to the Shangri La room.
Stephen stood outside of Joanna's bedroom door for several minutes, debating with himself. He remembered being inside the Kamar-Taj years ago, believing everything he'd seen there to be a massive deception. And back then no one had questioned his past the way he'd allowed Wong to question Joanna's. He felt the familiar ripple of injustice rise up within him, but he shoved it away. It wouldn't do any good to concentrate on that now. He filled himself with positive energy and knocked on the door.
Joanna's voice rang out through the thick wood, muffled and filled with barely disguised anguish. "Who is it?"
Under normal circumstances, Stephen might have made a joke. There's only one other person who lives here, unless the cloak has grown solid limbs. But he was sure of one thing: Joanna wouldn't be in a jovial mood.
"May I come in?" Stephen said instead.
"Suit yourself." Resignation in her voice.
Stephen slowly opened the door. She was just as he'd seen her in his mind's eye: sitting on the bed, eyes bloodshot from crying, her mind worn out from constantly running away from her troubles.
Now was probably not the best time to mention the mind seek. He chose a gentler approach. "You know you are welcome here, Joanna."
"I don't feel very welcome."
Tread carefully, Stephen. "Wong felt he was protecting…" No, that was the wrong thing to say. "He doesn't know you."
"And you do?" Joanna stared at him, accusation and anger in her eyes. "You just met me. You don't know me at all."
"You're right. I don't know you, not really."
"I don't need charity."
"What about friendship?"
Joanna gave him a cynical look. "Are we friends?"
"I'd like to be."
Stephen didn't want to continue standing over her. It felt patronizing, but he also couldn't risk sitting beside her on the bed. Too intimate. So he settled for kneeling in front of her, his legs tucked under him, in the same position he'd become accustomed to when being taught by the Ancient One.
"Joanna, this place truly is a sanctuary. It's a place of refuge for anyone, not just for sorcerers, or those training to be. Over the centuries, I've learned that many people have sheltered here. Some were being trained in the mystic arts, but many of them were simply seeking solace, or protection. Some were nomadic wanderers who ended up at the Sanctum's door, and others just needed a safe place to fall while they figured out where they were destined to go."
Joanna didn't say anything, but she never broke eye contact.
"I think, for now, you may be in that latter category. You need a place to heal."
He gestured to the room around her. "This room, and everything inside the Sanctum Santorum is open to you. You are welcome here."
He saw tears form inside her eyes. He considering holding her while she cried, but touching her, even in an innocuous act of kindness, might scare her away. So, he stayed on the floor in front of her and waited.
Joanna wiped away a tear and nodded. "Thank you." Her voice was thick with sadness.
"This is what friends do, Joanna."
A curt laugh escaped her throat. "I haven't been allowed to have many friends over the years."
"Well, you have one now."
It made Stephen's heart ache to see the hurt resting inside her eyes, the way she used every ounce of her strength to fight the urge to break down completely. She was a damaged soul. He wondered when she'd last been shown compassion.
Even though he had no idea what she might do, he risked reaching out to take her hand.
Joanna visibly jolted when his fingertips touched hers, but she didn't pull away. After a few minutes, she allowed him to take hold of her hand. She curled her fingers around his.
They sat like that for a long time. Finally, Joanna looked down at his hand. "Will you ever tell me what happened to your hands?"
"If you'd like. It's a bit of a long story."
Joanna smiled. "The one thing I have is time."
So, Stephen told her everything. He held nothing back about the egotistical, self-serving man he used to be. He told her about the miracle he'd sought from the Kamar-Taj, and all the things the Ancient One had shown him. He finished with the Eye of Agamotto relic, and how he'd spent years inside the Dark Dimension, dying a painful death over and over again to try and save the Earth. Joanna's eyes were so wide at that part he could've driven an ambulance through them.
He didn't talk about the Dark Dimension coming back during the Calamity last year and the endless questions that incident had left in his mind. He was afraid Joanna would retreat inside herself, placing those defensive shields she'd created to protect her feelings over her heart, if he brought up that pain. Instead, he ended his tale with the peace he'd found in becoming a guardian of the Sanctum.
"My God," Joanna whispered. "That's… quite a story."
He smiled at her.
She returned the smile, and glanced down at their hands still locked together. Her smile faded, and she let go.
Stephen rose to his feet. He hoped he had done enough, but he couldn't think of anything more he could do to convince her. "The invitation to stay here is open. I hope you'll consider it."
Joanna pulled her knees up, hugging them to her chest. "Will Wong come back?"
"Not if you don't want him to."
She let go of her knees. She expression was one of surprise. "Really?"
"I want you to feel at home here, Joanna. If I need to talk to Wong, I can go to him." He walked to the door.
"Stephen?"
He turned.
A fragile smile formed on her lips. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Stephen left her with the choice. It was all he could do. Her face looked thoughtful as he closed the door behind him.
He went to his regular meditation spot under the seal. The enchanted metal from its edges cast dark shadows thanks to the setting sun. He sat, crossing his legs, closed his eyes, and waited.
Stephen lingered in that same stance until it was well after midnight in Nepal and Wong was sound asleep. Then, he stopped meditating. He arose and opened a tiny portal about the size of his hand to an unoccupied room inside the Kamar-Taj. In front of him lay the display of sling rings on a shelf inside a novice training room. Stephen plucked the nearest one from its shelf and closed the portal.
