CHAPTER 23: THE PECULIAR WIZARD BEN SULLIVAN

For as long as he could remember, he yearned to be in the spotlight, the sole focus of everyone around him. So much effort was dedicated to such a fruitless claim, and after some time he wound up accepting the fact that his desires would never become reality. Yet now, his goal now was the complete opposite.

At this very moment, Markl was initiating the utmost secrecy - which was an entirely impossible task given that a certain birthday boy was fully alert at the most ungodly hour of the night.

The hallway light illuminated the space as Morgan stared wide awake at Markl's failed attempt at sneaking out. "What are you doing up so early?"

Markl immediately turned off the lights from the nearest switch. He raised a stern finger to his lips and shushed him. "Be quiet. Do you want to wake them up?"

Morgan immediately grinned. "Are we playing hide and seek from Mom and Dad?"

He thought that was a good enough lie, but knew Morgan couldn't keep a game of hide and seek as long as Markl had planned on being gone. To be honest, he hadn't truly created a timeframe for his absence just yet. Nothing could change the fact that he was caught though, and he needed to be extra convincing if Morgan was going to play in on this secret.

"No, Morgan," he said, slowly bending to one knee to reach his height, "I have something important I need to take care of right now. It might take me a while, so you won't see me for some time."

"How long will you be gone?"

Markl sighed. "I honestly don't know. But I need this to be our little secret, okay? Don't go telling anyone that you saw me." Of all whom he was leaving behind, Morgan was the one he would miss the most. Though he didn't quite understand it, Markl had grown the closest to the young magician boy.

Morgan nodded, his smile faded into a dismal visage. He wasn't quite frowning, but the sadness was very apparent. The young boy slumped back to his room, the desire for sleep strangely affecting him now at this late hour of the night. This would be one of the first nights he slept during the darkness.

He hoped the stars would forgive him for not answering their sweet conversations.

When Morgan turned around, hoping to catch a nonchalant smile or a playful nod from his older brother, Markl was nowhere to be seen. Only a small breeze flowed from where he previously stood.

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Howl had never before mentioned a wizard by the name of Ben Sullivan. In fact, the only magicians he ever talked about were his close friends or their most heinous rivals. This unfamiliar name dropped like a weight in the room of those who were uneasy about what else might unfold.

However, this wizard was not so foreign to some in the Pendragon household. Lona sat with a straightened back, clutching her baby daughter with a tight grip. "B-Ben Sullivan? You mean Madame Suliman's oldest apprentice?"

Howl bore a curious look toward Lona. "Yes, I'm surprised you knew that. Looks like Kenta has shared a lot more with you than I thought."

"I've never heard of the man." Calcifer said, and Sophie nodded in agreement. After releasing Morgan to rejoin his friends in the backyard, the adults rebooted their discussion. While the curiosity surrounding their son's wealth of knowledge had not diminished entirely, there was only so much that a boy his age and experience could provide.

Now, she held a high interest in this new, peculiar wizard, and all that he could offer.

"I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this." Howl said with a tepid tone, "Ben and I have a rather… interesting relationship."

"How interesting?" Calcifer spat as he crossed his arms. It wasn't unlike Howl to have hidden friendships, although with those people usually came some amount of trouble - typically a result of Howl's choices.

Howl scratched the back of his neck. "Well, it's a little hard to describe. I've actually only met him in person once."

"I guess you're due for a visit, then."

Howl turned to Calcifer, dropping his arms to his side. "It was the day we moved the castle into the Wastes for the first time."

Calcifer wrinkled his brows. He thought back to that time when he and Howl first escaped from Suliman's bogus academy. His precious castle had only recently become infamous around the land of Ingary. "I don't remember anyone near us then. I made sure we were isolated from magicians and humans alike."

"Ben is far more cunning than you can imagine," Howl replied with a slight smirk, "He knows how to outsmart even the most intelligent fire demons."

Calcifer scrunched his nose, his eyes narrowing with irritation. "I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult."

Sophie interjected. "What does Ben have to do with getting everyone back home from Wales?"

Howl continued. "Ben gave me a mission to accomplish in Wales all those years ago. I told him I never wanted to go back to my home country, especially with Megan and her family still hating me, but his offer was a little too good to pass up."

The beautiful pink and blue cloak had apparently been a gift to Howl in exchange for completing this mission. Ben Sullivan was also a natural-born Welsh wizard who escaped to Ingary, so he and Howl had quite a bit in common. He laid out the mission in great detail and offered the cloak as a reward should he succeed. With a rare and valuable item such as a magically transporting cloak, a youthful Howl was teeming with greed.

"So the cloak was a gift from Ben."

Howl sucked an edgy breath through his teeth, gritting them quickly. "Well, yes and no… I didn't necessarily complete the mission, or start it really…"

Calcifer pinched the brim of his nose, once again the result of Howl's choices causing him more annoyance. "You stole this wizard's cloak."

Howl laughed nervously. "A little."

Sophie punched his arm with more oomph than he was prepared to take. "There is no 'little' in stealing, Howl. You either did it or you didn't. I figured you'd know that by now."

Howl blushed and turned a charming smile to her. "Always pointing out my flaws, ever since the day you appeared in my castle."

Sophie winked. "If I don't, Calcifer will do worse."

"Is that a threat?"

Calcifer groaned and walked away from the overbearing flirtation. "Save the cutesy romance for later. We need to figure out how to make Ben like Howl again if we're going to bring our family back home."

"First, we need to find out where he is." Howl explained, "Ben is so aloof it's hard to find him in one place for too long. He likes to keep to himself, hiding behind aliases."

Sophie elbowed him playfully. "Sounds a lot like someone else I know."

"Well, he's much better at hiding than I was. I wouldn't even know where to start."

"If he was Suliman's old apprentice," Sophie questioned, referring back to Lona's earlier comment, "I'm worried if we can even trust him." They had seen a lifetime of cunning, backstabbing magicians. There was no telling how reliable he was now if at one point he was loyal to their greatest enemy.

"He was her first apprentice," Lona said, chiming in from her lonely corner of the room, "before Suliman was ever the Royal Sorceress and long before she opened an academy to teach dozens of students at a time. He never saw that side of Madame Suliman."

"Do you think we can trust him, Lona?" Sophie asked.

She paused for a quick moment, then lightly nodded. "Like Howl said, he's not an easy person to find. But he's the only other wizard from Wales who might have a way back to his home country. We really have no other choice."

Howl nodded in precarious agreement. "Has Kenta ever met Ben before? You know quite a lot about him, and I would assume you would have heard this from him."

Lona stayed seated, caressing Sora's sleeping body with quivering fingers. Normally the silent figure in the corner, it was uneasy to feel their eyes staring directly at her. It wasn't as though she had done anything wrong by knowing this information. Although, now that she truly thought about it, her own secrets were now a moment away from pouring into the room.

Lona swallowed hard, and chose to meet Calcifer's gaze amongst the group. "I have actually met Ben myself, and I know exactly where he lives."

Howl's eyes bulged. "You… you've actually seen him? When? Where? Why didn't Kenta ever tell me?" How strange, he thought, for his closest friend to not mention in the slightest bit of his connection to Ben. Howl had surely brought him up in conversation before. And yet, he wasn't entirely sure that was all true. Nowadays, Howl couldn't tell whom he shared anything with anymore.

Maybe Kenta held onto his own secrets, same as Howl. He grew curious as to their relationship. From the little that he remembered of Ben Sullivan, he was a man of few words and endless enjoyment of his own, personal solitude. Friends and family were pushed to a far and safe distance.

"It's not Kenta who knows him." Lona's voice spoke firm as she slowly rose up from her seat. "It's me."

"Lona, how-"

"I can tell you where to find him," Lona interrupted, "I understand he's our only option, but you're not gonna like where he lives."

"Lona, hold up." Howl said, trying to wrap his mind around such inconceivable thoughts. "How is it that you know a wizard like Ben?"

"Nevermind that." Lona said, though her eyes gently rolled and landed on Calcifer before darting quickly away. She rapped her foot on the rug below, her taps muffled by the soft wool. "Getting our family home is top priority, right? And if he can get us there, we might even be able to find Markl, too. Isn't that what you want?"

Calcifer narrowed his eyes. Howl pressed her for more information, to which Lona repeated the same words over and over again. Calcifer was skilled at reading people, and he was quite familiar with this side of her. He'd seen it when Gwenda would urge Lona to tell her something she was hiding. Tap, tap, tap, and then the casual glances toward himself.

That part, those odd, fleeting peeks made her seem all the more suspicious.

Howl continued his repetitive questionnaire, but Calcifer cut him off. "You're hiding something, Lona. Spill it."

She dropped her jaw, rapidly shaking her head. "Cal, stay out of this. It has nothing to do with you."

"Obviously it does, since you keep looking at me." He retorted. Before she could reply, he took gradual steps toward her. "Don't try to hide it. I've seen you do the same thing with Gwenda when you're hiding something from her. What does Ben have to do with me?"

"It's not… it's not you," Lona stumbled over her own words, pacing swiftly as young Sora stirred awake with unease. "I-I mean, it is b-but it really isn't. I-I don't know how else to explain it."

Calcifer pressed her further. "Try."

Lona paced. Sora fussed. Calcifer stood resolute, determined to itch whatever truth his sister-in-law held deep inside. After everything Xarx hit them with earlier about being honest and revealing the truth, Lona still was desperate to shield this truth from her family.

Calcifer grew impatient. "Say it."

Lona shook her head.

"Say it."

"Calcifer-"

"Just admit whatever it is already, dammit!"

"Fine!" Lona yelled, though her voice croaked with each word spoken in sheer fear. "Ben Sullivan is married to our mother, all right?"

Calcifer, Sophie, and Howl fell mute as little Sora's awakening burst into loud cries. Lona coddled and cradled her child, yet her eyes never departed from the absolute monsoon in Calcifer's. Sora sobbed and wailed a blaring cry, one that only a mother could soothe.

Lona coddled and cradled her child, her red eyes raging a vehement glare. "Happy now?"

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Markl camouflaged himself within the bustling crowds of Kingsbury. It was still quite early in the morning, the sun shining only above the smaller buildings. Its lights glimmered against the glass windows of the Kingsbury Central Marketplace in a blinding enchantment.

As hopeful as he was, Markl walked with dismal and morose steps. He never wanted it to come to this point - actually walking out on Howl. Would he be mad that he left without so much as a goodbye?

Markl scoffed at the thought. He probably wouldn't even notice.

The city of Kingsbury, once again at its height of prosperity and wealth, still held the stain of a civil war. Most of the destruction had been rebuilt and monuments created to commemorate the brave actions of those who dared defy the unstoppable Madame Suliman.

Markl stopped dead in his tracks as he stood directly in front of the one witch who showed the world that Suliman was not as unstoppable as everyone believed.

Martha Hatter - Martyr of the Magicians' War. Her brace sacrifice led to the defeat of the evil tyrant Madame Suliman. Though departed too soon, she remains alive in the hearts of her loved ones and all of those in Ingary.

Markl frowned at the plaque. In his mind, it didn't do enough justice to the Martha he remembered.

Bell trolleys rang sweetly throughout the main streets, and Markl hurried along, clutching tightly to his letter of opportunity. There was only so much time he could spend in Ingary before he exodus to Wales. The mysterious sender requested several obscure items before Markl made his way there, and there was no possible way Wales possessed such rarities.

In a world without magic, he needed to bring magic with him.

Across the street was the prime location - a local shop named Mystics, Magics, and Potions. Had he gone to Calcifer's shop in Porthaven, his dear friend surely would have questioned his intent with such peculiar objects. Markl believed the old fire demon had the greatest magician's shop in Ingary - even greater than Howl's - yet this task was far too risky for more involvement. It was better to keep Calcifer and Gwenda out of his problems.

He quickly shuffled through the oncoming traffic and other pedestrians, trying his best to stay out of sight and unnoticeable. Though he was very much older now than he was during the war, his statue and plaque were there as well, and he preferred not to be remembered for his early victory.

The tiny bell to the magician's shop rang, the sound as soft as a feather and danced like fireflies in the nighttime. It sang a rather musical tune, even after Markl had already shut the door. No one was in sight, yet he listened for the sweet song's final note with graceful ears.

The shop was dark and gloomy, no light appearing until a lantern directly above the entrance began glowing all on its own. Markl immediately gazed at the light, and he tilted his head with curiosity. The lantern held a blue flame, the kind of blue one couldn't possibly witness in the sky or the ocean. It was deeper, richer, and far more electrifying than nature. It burned with a voracious desire.

More than that, the flame inside grew two silver eyes and a low smile. "Welcome to Mystics, Magics, and Potions. My name is Vega. We hope you find everything you're looking for within our ample inventory."

Markl stared stunned at the flame, wondering why he wasn't more surprised. In fact, he wasn't frightened at all. While fire demons were extreme rarities themselves, a life with Calcifer made him more aware of such creatures. Yet she was the only other fire demon he had ever met before in his life.

"Um, thank you," Markl replied slowly, "I didn't realize a fire demon ran this shop."

The demon laughed, her voice carrying an angelic echo throughout the quaint space. It wasn't the fact that there was a demon in his presence, but rather something about this peculiar fire demon felt warm and inviting. It relaxed him as opposed to some who might have found such magical creatures to be worrisome. Even her laughter was beauty itself. It touched a familiar vein inside of his soul.

However, the raspy voice from the shadows certainly left Markl startled. "Vega is my assistant." Markl darted his eyes swiftly throughout the shop. He looked everywhere, but the light from the fire demon only illuminated the small area near the front door. He couldn't see beyond the darkness, not even the 'ample inventory' Vega vaunted during their initial greeting.

What a strange way to run a shop where no one can see anything, Markl thought crudely.

As if reading his mind, the mysterious person snapped his fingers, lighting the room with dim candles all around. Though not as inviting as the warmth of Vega, the lights helped Markl see everything - from the array of magical trinkets and weapons to the bubbling potions still brewing in pots to the rows of peculiar ingredients used for the creation of all sorts of spells.

The anonymous owner was also visible to Markl now. He rested against the edge of a curtained doorway, leaning casually with a crooked smile. His hair flowed blond down to the edge of his neck, similar to Howl before his extreme hair makeover. Yet it was his eyes that were the strangest he'd ever seen, like a foggy, grey film had masked his sight.

The owner covered those eyes with a pair of black, circular glasses. "My apologies. I forget for most people, seeing is actually a necessity. Your name, young man?"

Markl stuttered. "M-Markl Pen-." He paused. "Actually, just Markl."

The man smiled wider now, this time a glimpse of his teeth showing. "Concealing your surname from a stranger. Smart move." He whipped open a skinny walking stick and took gentle strides in his direction. He wasn't quite sure how the man knew where Markl stood - possibly the location of his voice or some inherent magic. He was quite flustered all of a sudden, though.

Markl had never met anyone who was blind.

When he approached closer, Markl realized just how tall this man was - not himself nor Howl nor Gwenda compared. His slender build stood fragile as he hunched downward to meet Markl's height, mere inches from his face. "For a valuable customer, however, I have no need to conceal my identity. I am Wizard Ben Sullivan, here to aid your magical feat in whichever way you need."