Relative Illusion - Part Twelve

Ari grinned. “There! The bleeding is stopped and everything is back to normal.”

“As normal as my head can be, anyway.” Lee chuckled as he gave her a polite nod of his head, “Thank you, it’s nice not to have that dull headache all the time. Maybe I’ll sleep better tonight.”

Ari hugged him then slid off the bed. “Wow. I feel more tired than I did yesterday.”

“It’s the fact that the blood vessels you were working on were much smaller, and you had to focus to make sure you didn’t change anything else.” Yule picked her up. “I’ve got quite a few snacks waiting for you in your old room, all you’ll have to do is eat and then take a nap before your mother gets here.”

Ari nodded sleepily, “I’m glad Lee is here, I’m learning so MUCH!” She grinned down at her cousin from her grandfather’s arms.

“Glad I can be of some use.” Lee smiled amiably back up at her. “You’re far preferable to the doctors at the hospital.” He stretched. “It does beg the question though, if my concussion is no longer a problem do I have to stay in bed?”

“You’re welcome to go downstairs, if you feel up to it with your leg the way it is.” Yule shrugged, “I can help you after I get Ari settled.”

“I can manage on my own.” Lee started to get out of bed with a determined look on his face.

“Hold on, at least let me carry some things down for you.”

“I was going to attempt to wash my hair and change clothes first. I feel absolutely disgusting.” Lee grimaced. “But if you could take my laptop downstairs I would really appreciate it.”

“Careful with your leg and the cast in the water.” Yule admonished as he carried Ari out the door and down the hall.

“I will.”, was the faint reply as the bathroom door closed.

***********

Michael came home after receiving the text that Yule was going to leave soon and that he wanted at least one capable adult in the penthouse with Lee and Ari. Michael found Lee in the living room; lounging on the couch with his leg up and his laptop balanced on his knees, eating a sandwich and dressed in deep blue pajamas with yellow stars all over them. The CEO took a deep breath and approached the young man, “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” Lee answered with his mouth full. He swallowed and smiled, not looking up from his computer.

“You look better. Why are you downstairs?”

“I needed a change of scenery, especially since I can’t use magic to change the look of things. I’m not used to being in the same place this long, at least not someplace so stark.”

Michael sat down on the loveseat next to the couch. “Stark? What do you mean?”

“Seriously, do you use any other color than white to decorate?” Lee waved his hand around indicating the whole suite, still not looking up. “It’s so . . . dull.”

“It’s clean and modern.”

“It’s boring.” Lee snorted. “Not even a single bit of carving, just a bunch of straight lines.” Lee frowned as he looked at his computer monitor and typed something quickly.

“When you have your own place, you can decorate it the way you want.” Michael crossed his arms. He could feel the irritation starting to rise again, despite his determination not to let Lee get to him.

“Okay, fair enough. Your castle, your rules, got it.” The young man continued his surprisingly fast typing without looking up.

“What are you doing?”

“Work. I’ve been out of it for too long and I was right in the middle of finalizing a couple of new illusions.” Lee frowned in concentration, finished the rest of his sandwich in one huge bite, then typed some more. He made sure he’d finished chewing and swallowing before continuing speaking, “Also, I’m trying to assure my assistants that I’m still alive.”

“Your assistants?”

Lee finally looked up at Michael, “You know, the beautiful women who perform on stage with me? They’re concerned about Lee and want to make sure he’s okay.” He smiled at the computer fondly. “They think I’m incredibly sweet for taking the time to look after him.”

Michael narrowed his eyes, “You mean to tell me that your assistants don’t know that Lee and Kaneís are the same person?”

“Of course not! Only Daniella knows. Kaneís has Lee as an apprentice of sorts, he helps with the setup of the illusions and stage. Kaneís is a 20 something professional magician and Lee is a teenager who needed a job.” Lee smirked at Michael, “That way I can help with everything and make sure it’s all done right and don’t have to have an illusion on constantly. It does get tiring after a while, even when I’m at full power.”

“Seems a little strange.”

“Says the CEO who goes out and fights crime in a cape and mask.”

Yule came down the stairs before Michael could give a retort. “Ah, Michael, you made it before I left. Excellent. Ari is asleep in her room and will probably stay that way for a while, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about her but it’s nice to have you here just in case.”

“I could manage . . .” Lee stopped at Yule’s look of disbelief then frowned as he pointed at the older man. “I took you on with an infected leg and a broken arm and held my own!”

“With the help of your magic, which you can’t use right now.” Yule smirked. “You can barely get up and down the stairs at the moment.”

Lee grumbled, “I was still able to do it without your help.”

Yule shook his head in amusement. “Be that as it may, you’re injured and in no shape to be keeping an eye on Ari, even if her mother trusted you enough to allow it. That’s why Michael is here.”

“Fine.” Lee looked back down at his computer and started typing something.

Yule gave Michael a glare to remind him that he was supposed to distract the boy from his computer, to which Michael rolled his eyes with a frustrated expression. Yule frowned at the younger man, “Lee, why don’t you take a break from your computer for a while?”

Lee looked up at Yule with an expression of disbelief. “Why?”

Yule leaned down and glared, “Because the two of you have barely said a word to each other since you got here. Time to get to know each other.” He directed the same glare at Michael.  “If I must make it an order, I will.”

The response of “Yes, sir” that came from both seated men was so similar that Yule nearly laughed. He stood up and frowned to keep his composure, “All right, I’ll see both of you later.”

The older man strode out the door. Lee glowered at Michael and got the same look back as the door closed.

“I don’t need a keeper.”

“I did tell him that, but he seems to think we need to talk.” Michael leaned back and shrugged. “So, let’s at least give it a try. Any sports you like to watch?”

“Does ballet count?”

Michael paused. “Not exactly. I was thinking more along the lines of something you can watch where you have one team you’re rooting for.” He looked thoughtful. “You’re interested in ballet?”

“How do you think I learned how to move on stage? My choreographer introduced me to ballet as an example of how to do grand gestures in a magician type way.” Lee chuckled and demonstrated.

“That reminds me, I haven’t see you carrying a wand around like your mother’s. Do you have one?” Michael narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He remembered Rysta telling him that all wizards and sorceresses from her world had wands, unless they were a magic user like Shok’Artel.

“Yes. It’s upstairs with the rest of my things. You’ve seen it, sort of. I normally put a spell on it so that it looks and acts like a staff rather than a dagger type wand. When I’m not using it there’s a spell on it to make it invisible so I don’t have to explain why I’m carrying something that looks like a weapon.”

“I’d like to see it, eventually.”

“Certainly.”

Silence fell between the two of them as they waited for the other to make the next move in their strange game of verbal chess.

Lee finally cleared his throat, “I honestly don’t know what to talk to you about. I’ve spent my entire life up until now just seeing pictures and hearing the stories that mother and Aardrin told me about you. I had so many questions when I was younger, but now they all seem really stupid.”

“Like what?”

Lee shook his head. “Things I don’t want to ask now because I’m afraid to actually hear the answers.” He chuckled nervously. “Do I have any half-siblings here?”

“Not that I’m aware of.” Michael cleared his throat. “Do you have any in the other world?”

Lee looked down as if he were reluctant to impart this information, then spoke. “Three brothers and a sister.”

Michael’s eyes widened, “You have four half-siblings from your mother?”

“To be fair, the two just after me were twins.”

Michael just sat back, stunned. He simply couldn’t imagine Rysta with that many children, or children at all for that matter. “Should I assume she’s married?”

“Disgustingly happily, yes.” Lee rolled his eyes. “Should I assume you aren’t, since I haven’t really seen any trace of a wife?”

“Not married.” Michael shook his head slightly.

Lee didn’t seem surprised by his answer and sat there quietly nodding.

Michael stared at his son for a moment as he processed the information given. “You must be used to having far more people around.”

“You have no idea.” Lee chuckled ruefully. “This penthouse is stark in more ways than one compared to where I come from.” He slid his laptop off his knees and onto the coffee table and looked at his father. “I have to ask, why did you bring up sports?”

“It’s just the first thing I could think of.”

Lee looked thoughtful, “Do you understand baseball?” He met Michael’s eyes with a strange hopefulness.

“Yes . . .”

“Football? Basketball?” Lee’s eyes started to light up with eagerness.

“Of course, why are you . . .” Michael stopped and stared at the young man. “You don’t?”

“No!” Lee leaned forward, his face a mix of excitement and impatience. “But you do? Do you know how long I’ve been trying to figure out those damn games?!”

“Why didn’t you just ask someone or look it up on the internet?”

“There are so many terms that I don’t understand that trying to sort it out online just confused me even more. The one time I tried to ask a person what was going on they didn’t believe I was so ignorant and thought I was mocking them. Nearly got into a fist fight because the guy was drunk as well.” Lee laughed. “There! Now we have something to talk about. Tell me everything you know about baseball, football, and basketball. I would be incredibly grateful if you could explain them to me so I can actually understand what my assistants and manager are talking about!”

Michael gave a thoughtful look at the suddenly animated young man. Well, it wasn’t the kind of sports discussion he was used to, but he found himself grinning at the challenge of explaining the games to someone who had never grown up playing them or even seeing them played. In fact, he suddenly felt it was his duty; this was his son after all. “That I can do. What do you want to know about first? I think one game at a time would be best so you don’t get confused.”

Lee leaned back, his brow furrowing in thought. “Football first. That’s the one everyone has been talking about lately, I think. That’s the one with the weird brown pointy egg shaped ball with the big white stitches, right?”

Michael nodded, “Football season just started. All right, you’ve got two teams with eleven players each . . .”

**************

Yule stood in the parking lot and looked around at storage facility where he had agreed to meet Ms. Anderson, wondering if he’d brought what he’d need to get the trunk she was referring to. A small but nice dark blue car drove up and parked near him and Lee’s manager stepped out. “Hello, Mr. David. Nice to see you again.”

“Nice to see you as well.” Yule shook the woman’s hand and smiled. “I hope Mr. Bruce hasn’t been treading on your toes too much.”

The woman frowned, “Only as much as I expected.” She sighed, “Come on, I’ll get you in and show you where the trunk is. Did you bring a way to cart it off? It’s really heavy.”

Yule motioned toward the small industrial van he’d driven over, “I’m hoping that will be sufficient.”

Daniella nodded, “That should work. Follow me.” The woman strode quickly to the gate and entered the passcode, then led Yule into the facility toward the bigger units.

“How did you and Lee find each other?” It was something Yule was very curious about since he knew that Rysta couldn’t possibly have known about Talent Agents.

“He found me. Literally popped into my office out of nowhere.” Daniella shook her head in amusement. “Proved to me that he was not only talented but worth helping. Totally worth helping, the kid is a natural performer and the public loves him.” She smirked back at Yule. “But you need to reiterate to Mr. Bruce that his son is a little odd.”

“Odd? What do you mean?”

Daniella suddenly looked very uncomfortable. “I’m sure Mr. Bruce will figure it out eventually. Just . . . keep an eye on the boy. That’s all. He needs constant surveillance or you’ll find yourself trying to hunt him down. He likes to disappear, among other things.”

“I think Mr. Bruce has a firm grasp of what his son needs.” Yule was fighting the smirk that popped up when Ms. Anderson mentioned surveillance, “But I’ll make sure to pass on the message.”

Daniella relaxed, glad that the older man seemed to be taking her seriously. “Good. He’s a good kid and incredibly talented, but he can be a challenge at times.” She stopped in front of one of the storage units and pulled out her keys. “I hope Mr. Bruce will allow him to continue with his career.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem, I know Mr. Bruce is interested in setting up a meeting to discuss Lee’s contract with you.”

The lock clicked open and Daniella pushed the door up. “Good. He can call me at the number on the card I gave him. I’m available all next week.”

“I’ll let him know.” Yule squinted into the darkness. “Is that it?” In the middle of the storage unit was something large covered in a white sheet.

“That’s it. Lee insists on dragging it around, but he also insists on it being in a safe place and not where he performs.” Daniella stood in front of the sheet covered item, her arms crossed as she frowned. “It’s the only thing he had, other than the nasty clothes on his back, before he became Kaneís.” The manager pulled off the sheet in a movement that she probably learned from her client. Yule’s eyes widened as a huge, intricately carved and inlayed wooden trunk was revealed. The strangest thing about the item was that Yule couldn’t see a single sign of a lock or even hinges, it looked like it had been carved out of one solid piece of dark wood.

Yule approached the trunk carefully. It definitely was protected with spells and it was obviously not from this world; the carvings alone screamed that fact. Strange flowers and plants, figures with long flowing hair, even the inlay didn’t look like stone that could have come from the world it was now in. Yule bent and attempted to lift it by its leather straps. He managed to get it slightly off the floor before it dramatically increased in weight, making him put it down again before he hurt his back. “Well. That’s interesting.” He looked at the trunk thoughtfully, wondering if he had the power to negate the spell for at least as long as it took to get it on the van.

“Lee will put it on a dolly, once it’s got wheels it’s far easier to move.” Daniella shook her head. “Magicians. He’s done something to it that makes it nearly impossible for anyone but himself to pick up. I don’t even know what he’s got in there, no one’s been able to figure out how to open it and he’s never opened it when people are watching.”

Yule frowned in thought. “I’ll go get the dolly I brought and maybe, between the two of us, we can get it on there and into the van.”

“You’re determined, I’ll give you that. All right, I’ll do what I can to help.” She took off her business jacket and followed Yule back toward the parking lot.

*************

Michael leaned back and observed Lee. After various attempts at explaining football rules and plays, Michael decided that watching an actual game would be easier. At least that way Lee could ask questions when something happened and he didn’t understand it. It had taken nearly to halftime before the questions slowed and Lee became more interested in the game being played. Michael hadn’t learned much more about his son; other than the fact that he had his mother’s insatiable curiosity when it came to anything new and he could really put away the food. Lee was in the middle of devouring his fifth hot dog when the door suddenly opened and Yule came in pushing a heavily loaded dolly covered in a sheet.

Michael stood to see what was being brought in. His eyes widened as Yule eased the item onto the floor and removed the sheet. Michael circled the trunk with undisguised curiosity. “Amazing. How does the carving not get damaged every time you move it?” Michael knelt down next to it and touched it carefully, as if he were afraid of breaking something off.

Lee limped up slowly behind his father and chuckled, “Magic, of course. How else?”

“How did you get this here? This is from your world, isn’t it?” Michael looked up at Lee in amazement.

“Ah, see, that was part of the spell. Mother didn’t want me coming here empty handed.” Lee smiled and knelt in front of the trunk, running his hand along the carvings. “I actually sat on it and held onto the handles. Not very comfortable, but it worked.”

Yule looked at it closer trying to find the seam between the lid and bottom. “How do you open it?”

Lee looked like he was about to do something when he stopped. “I open it with magic. But I don’t think I’ll be able to right now with all the wards.”

“What are you carrying in there?” Michael stood up and moved around to watch over Lee’s shoulder.

“Raw materials for spells, mostly. Mementos from home, my books and some of my clothing, some things for Ari from her father, gifts from mother to all of you . . .”

“Raw materials? You mean like gems and gold?” Yule blinked in surprise.

Lee laughed and stood, backing up so he could sit down in the chair across from the trunk. “Yes. Mother insisted after what happened when she came here. Her exact words were ‘I don’t want you stuck there with substandard materials for spells’. That’s why the security on that trunk is so strong, I’ve got individual items in there that are worth a large fortune in this world.” He sat down and stared off into nothing for a moment then looked over at Yule, “How did you manage to move it?”

“I did a counter spell briefly that allowed myself and Ms. Anderson to get it on a dolly and up into the van. That’s a clever spell, making the gravity increase until the person can’t lift it.” Yule looked thoughtfully at the trunk and then at Lee. “I think I would be willing to dismiss the wards briefly if you want to open it.”

Lee smirked, “You just want to see what I’ve got in there.”

“True.”

“Oh, why not?” Lee stood up and limped back toward the trunk. “I promise I’ll just use magic to open it and nothing else when you lift the restrictions.”

Yule raised an eyebrow. He had been planning on insisting on such a promise, but the fact that Lee made it with no prompting was a point in the young man’s favor. “All right. Ready?”

Lee knelt down and held his hand over the trunk. “Ready.”

Michael watched all of this in disbelief. It was bad enough when Yule would do “magic” but now there were two of them in the penthouse? He sighed and watched as Yule snapped his fingers, then there was a flash of purple from Lee’s hand and the trunk popped opened with a soft creak. Yule snapped his fingers again as soon as the glow had vanished. Lee pushed the trunk open fully and peered into it as both Yule and Michael came up behind him.

“Is that a sapphire?” Yule sounded awed by what he saw.

“Hm?” Lee tried to follow the man’s line of sight. “Yes.” He picked it up and handed the large, clear, blue gem to the older man. “See what I mean? From all the research I’ve done, I could sell just that and live off the money. If I wanted to sell it, which I don’t.”

Yule simply stared at the gem, which fit into his palm perfectly. “To say the least. You could live like a king on the proceeds from selling this.” He handed the gem to Michael as Lee started rummaging through the trunk.

“Are you telling me that the gems in your world are so common that they can be found this size and clarity and no one thinks twice about it?” Michael stared at the blue stone in his hand in disbelief.

“That is correct. In fact, half of my supply I found while swimming at the bottom of a waterfall pool.” Lee chuckled. “No one but Mages use gems and there’s not many of us around so it’s easy to find good sized clear ones.”

Michael shook his head in disbelief. “Amazing.” He reluctantly set the gem back into the trunk, noting that there were indeed more large gems of various colors shining back at him as he watched Lee continue to look for something.

Lee pulled out some black fabric “Ah. Found it.” He passed it to Michael. “Mother wanted me to give this to you. It’s for if you ever need a “fancy” cape for your costume. I wouldn’t wear it while actually doing crime fighting, it will rip, but for anything where you just have to stand and look impressive it should do the job. The fabric blows nicely in the wind.”

Michael studied the cloth as Lee continued to hunt for something else. It didn’t feel like anything he was familiar with, it was both soft and lightweight but obviously made of something fibrous since it had a rough weave to it. “It’s nice. We’ll see if I actually find some opportunity to use it.” He ran his fingers along the fabric, thinking about the woman who gave it to him.

“I’ll see what I can do with it.” Yule nodded.

Lee made a victorious sound and emerged from the trunk. “Wow, that was buried.” He looked at Yule, “Mother and Aardrin wanted you to have this.” He handed the older man what looked like a dagger sheathed in heavy leather with a large round emerald on the hand guard.

Yule took it and blinked in surprise. “Is this . . .?”

“Tiernan’s wand, yes.” Lee nodded. “Mother managed to keep it all this time. She told me they couldn’t think of anyone better to give it to.”

Yule slowly turned the item in his hands. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

Lee laughed, “Cast spells? Hang it on your wall? Whatever you want.” He shrugged and closed the trunk carefully. “No one else can use it. You might be able to, but I don’t know that for sure. It’s still a nice looking item even as decor.” Lee stared at the closed trunk as he sat on the floor, looking lost in thought.

Michael put a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Shall we finish watching the game?”

Lee nodded then looked up with a grin, “Yeah, I am curious as to how it’s going to end.” He got up slowly and limped back toward the couch without another look back at the trunk.

Michael handed the fabric to Yule and commented softly, “Well, it’s been an interesting day so far.”

“You’ll have to fill me in later. I’ll get these to my workshop then go check on Ari.” Yule responded just as quietly.

Michael nodded. “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep him distracted with sports though.”

“One step at a time. He’s distracted for now. How’s the food holding out?”

“He’s discovered he likes hot dogs.” Michael shook his head. “He’s like a bottomless pit.”

“He’s a teenager and a wizard, it’s a wonder he’s managed on those protein drinks.” Yule chuckled. “When I get back we can order out, maybe we can even convince Sara to join us for dinner when she comes to get Ari.”

Michael nodded and went to watch the rest of the game with Lee while Yule headed to the Control Center.