Bas stepped forward, producing a small, ornate box from within her robes. "We start with this," she said, opening the box to reveal a sleek fountain pen that seemed to shimmer with an inner light.
"This pen," Bas explained, "is imbued with ancient magic. It will help focus and amplify your nascent Word Wizard abilities as you learn to control them."
Chad reached out hesitantly, feeling a slight tingling in his fingers. Was that the pen? Or was it his nerve endings quivering with fear?
“How will I know if I’m about to make a mistake? I could word something in a way that could be misinterpreted, couldn’t I? The English language is full of double meanings.”
“You’ll practice with a good old-fashioned pencil first,” Brianna said, smiling. “You can run your practice spells by me before you commit to anything with that pen and parchment. Before you know it, you won’t need anyone to double check your wording.”
Chad cocked his head to the side. “Let me guess… You’re not really a CPA, are you?”
Brianna laughed. “Actually, I am. When I moved from Massachusetts to New York, I gave it up to work for the L.A.W. full time, but that includes keeping their books.”
“And thank the Goddess for that,” Bas said. “What a pain in the ass that was for me.”
Hearing the powerful witch use a crude expression brought a sense of normalcy and a welcome bit of comic relief. Chad couldn’t help the smile that stole across his face.
Later that evening,Chad sat on his bed, knees up, holding his lap desk, staring at the blank sheet of paper before him. The magical fountain pen Bas had given him lay untouched beside it. He'd been practicing with regular pencil and paper for days now, under Brianna's watchful eye, but this was different. This was real.
"You can do this," Brianna said softly from her perch on the edge of his bed. "Just start small, like we practiced."
Chad nodded, taking a deep breath. He picked up the pen, feeling the tingle of energy coursing through his fingers. Slowly, deliberately, he wrote:
"No air in the room stays still and warm." He expected a cool breeze.
As the last word left the pen, Chad felt a subtle shift. The faint sounds of traffic outside faded away, and a noticeable chill settled over the room. His eyes widened in amazement when he suddenly realized he couldn’t breathe. “Air!” he gasped. “Need air!”
Brianna nodded and pointed to the pen.
He wrote, “Let there be air,” feeling very foolish for wording it as if he were God, and for getting the wording wrong in the first place.
A gust of air blew through the room, and both of them inhaled deeply. “I’m never going to master this…” Chad wailed. “I had expected cool air to circulate.”
“You will. This is why we’re practicing.”
Chad slumped back against the headboard, feeling deflated. "I almost suffocated us, Bri. How am I supposed to stop interdimensional invaders if I can't even control the air in my own bedroom?"
Brianna scooted closer, placing a comforting hand on his knee. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. This is incredibly advanced magic you're dealing with. The fact that you made anything happen at all is amazing."
Chad sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I guess. It's just... the stakes are so high. What if I mess up when it really matters?"
"Again… That's why we practice," Brianna said. "Look, why don't we try something a little less vital? Something that can't accidentally kill us if it goes wrong?"
Despite himself, Chad chuckled. "Good idea. Any suggestions?
She sighed. “Let’s call it a night. I think you need to relax, and I need to get back to the mansion on Long Island to prepare for the Imbolc sabbat.”
“The what?”
“Imbolc.” She rose from her spot on the bed and strolled to him. “It’s a minor pagan holiday compared to others, but the L.A.W. coven celebrates them all.” She smiled, bent down and kissed him.
Chad felt a warmth spread through him at Brianna's kiss, momentarily pushing aside his worries about his newfound abilities. When they parted, he looked up at her with a mix of affection and curiosity.
"Imbolc, huh? Care to enlighten this uninitiated Word Wizard about what that entails?"
Brianna smiled, her eyes twinkling. "It's a celebration of the returning light, traditionally held on February 1st or 2nd. It marks the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. For witches, it's a time of purification, renewal, and preparation for the coming spring."
Chad nodded, absorbing the information. "Sounds nice. I wish I could join you."
