Julian opened his eyes to see anxious faces looking into his. Tess, Ms. Sayer, Ryan, Hieu. He realized that he was in the infirmary, a small set of rooms on the first floor of the Admin building.
“You’re all right!” said Ryan.
“Are you alright?” asked Ms. Sayer.
Julian considered this. He felt fine, just drained, deeply exhausted, like he had been hiking for miles up hill on a humid day. He sat up in the bed, flexing his leg muscles, scratching the back of his head, and stretching.
“Yeah. I’m OK.”
Seeing their looks of doubt, he continued, “Really, I’m fine, just really tired.”
“We haven’t been sure what to make of what happened, Julian,” said Ms. Sayer.
Julian glanced at the others, and Ryan said, “It’s OK, she knows.”
“Yes,” Ms. Sayer said with a rueful grin, “I know what danger and trouble my giving you that translation has led to.”
“But what happened? Where’s Stryker? What did they do?”
“I met Ryan in the hallway. I was on my way to the meeting, hoping to sit in on the discussion,” said Ms. Sayer.
“Yeah, I was pretty freaked out. I got the clock going like you wanted, and I was on my way back to the board room, but I was scared sh-, uh, I was really scared, and when I saw Ms. Sayer, I told her the deal.”
“Ryan informed me that you were locked in a magical duel with Mr. Stryker, that the board itself was frozen, and that he thought you were losing. I wasn’t sure what we could do, but we rushed in to the room, where we saw you collapse to the floor, a white aura around you dissipating as you did so. The members of the board seemed fine, and they were rushing to the back of the room, where Tess and Hieu were kneeling over you, trying to wake you up. Mr. Stryker was gone.”
“You wouldn’t wake up, not for anything,” Tess joined in, her voice full of concern.
“So after Ms. Sayer explained it all to the board, we moved you here,” said Ryan.
“Since you were breathing fine, and the reasons for your collapse were, shall we say, a bit unusual, I figured it was best to move you here rather than call an ambulance. Though, I must confess, I have been very anxious for you,” said Ms. Sayer.
Julian thought for a while. “How long have I been here, then?”
“About three hours,” said Ryan. “It’s seven now.”
Looking at Ms. Sayer, Julian asked, “What did you tell them? What happened? What did they see?”
“Well, I could hardly tell them that Mr. Stryker was destroyed in a magical duel with our fifteen-year-old student, Julian Drake. None of them remember any of the magic. They just remember you boys appearing, yelling about Mr. Stryker having a conflict of interest, then Stryker being gone and you collapsing at the back of the room. So I suggested that Stryker ran out of the room in the face of your protests and tried to shift the conversation to your claims.”
“I gave them the info we dug up on Stryker,” Hieu said. “They were all over it.”
“They wanted to know what in the world you were doing there,” said Ms. Sayer, “but the papers Hieu provided gave them the answer they needed. They agreed that it appeared that Stryker indeed had a conflict of interest and was trying to steer the board into a deal that would benefit him financially. His disappearance didn’t hurt the case against him, either.”
“So they let us off the hook,” Ryan said.
“Well, Dr. Stephens wants to see you tomorrow, Julian, as do I,” said Ms. Sayer. “But I think that the board accepted Stryker’s plot as explanation enough for why you were there. They basically see it as a case where they did not perform their own due diligence, and some students who cared about their school did it for them. They are willing to overlook the way you barged into the meeting.”
“They kinda had to overlook it, didn’t they? They bloody well couldn’t see us!” said Tess gleefully.
The other three laughed, and if Julian had any doubts about feeling better, they immediately vanished.
“Ryan,” Julian said.
“Yeah?”
“You saved the day, you know. Thank you.”
“What? Are you kidding? You’re the hero, Julian.”
“I couldn’t have finished. I was losing. Having the clock back is what made it possible for me to . . . to finish it.”
“Well, you’re welcome. I just did what you told me to do.”
The look of admiration on Ryan’s face made Julian uncomfortable, so he let it go. The others began to file out, and Julian found himself content to close his eyes again.
~
The school nurse let Julian go a little later that evening, and after a belated dinner (Ms. Sayer took the four of them out to Crenshaw’s, a local restaurant in Wilton, for their favorites, handmade burgers—though Tess insisted on a veggie burger––onion rings, and chocolate shakes). The next day was Saturday, and Julian had agreed to go see Ms. Sayer first thing. She had told him that Dr. Stephens wanted to see him at eleven, so they agreed that he could come by her office at ten.
He found her drinking tea in one of the armchairs, and at her invitation he poured himself a cup. He still wasn’t used to the temperature, but it was soothing.
“Alright, Julian, tell me the story. I was happy to cover for you with the board, as obviously you have done the school a huge service. But I think I deserve to know what you have really been up to. Clearly you’ve made use of Dr. Drake’s journal.”
“Yeah, I have. And I owe you an apology. I know I promised that I would come back to you before doing anything. I know that I should have. Things just kind of moved really fast. But, I swear, we, I, only did it because we had no choice. I mean, we started out just trying to get information about what Stryker was up to. We used a camera and a computer, and, but, he stopped us with magic. We had no choice, then. I had to learn enough so that we could find out what was going on. And we did, we overheard him proposing the sale of Parker’s Piece, explaining that one of his firms was buying it, and arguing that the school should be sold to a corporation. And he was controlling the committee with magic, just like he did the board.”
“So you had no choice but to fight back.”
“Well, once the committee approved the motion to go before the board, we knew we had to stop it somehow. So I learned how to make us invisible, and we just went. We didn’t really have a plan, the rest just kind of happened. When I lost control of my feelings, we were visible, and then I tried to break his hold on the board, and he attacked me.”
“What was that like?”
“It was horrible, scary. I was . . . he . . . it was like an abyss, darkness, nothingness, death, all at once. It was Tess, and Ryan getting the clock going, that saved me. They gave me enough support to protect myself. But . . .” Here Julian paused and swallowed.
Ms. Sayer realized that he was on the verge of tears. “Are you upset about what happened to Mr. Stryker?”
“Yes!” said Julian. “It was awful. He, the darkness, it just collapsed in on him, and he was gone. What really happened to him?”
“From what I remember of the journal, and other reading I have done, Julian, I am afraid that he is dead, consumed by the nothingness that he released.”
“Then I killed him. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone! It just happened. With the clock’s power, I formed a mirror to protect myself and the darkness that was reaching for me met that, and reflected back, and . . . and, he was gone.”
“I know this won’t make it any easier to bear, Julian, but you mustn’t blame yourself. What Mr. Stryker did, he did himself, out of greed and the pursuit of power. Just as Dr. Drake said, those who use dark magic endanger their souls. In this case, his body as well. Evil is a corruption of goodness, and that corruption ultimately consumes itself.”
“Yeah, I know. But that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about it. I guess the good side is I know I’ll never be tempted to use dark magic. God, what a fate.”
“Are you going to continue with your use of magic, then?”
“Well, I guess I kinda have a gift for it. Tess and Ryan and Hieu act like it’s impossible. I’m gonna keep exploring it. I mean, if Stryker was out there, there must be others. But I know,” Julian said, seeing the look on the chaplain’s face, “I’ll be careful.” He went on, “I do have some questions though: How come I can do this? How did Stryker learn about magic? And does Dr. Stephens know?”
Over her glasses, Ms. Sayer looked at Julian for while, and he was reminded of how she had weighed him up before telling him about what his great-grandfather’s journal contained. Finally, she said, “Julian, you do have a gift. I don’t know why you find magic relatively easy, but I assure you it is a gift, and a rare one. According to Dr. Drake’s journal, anyone can do what you have done, but still, I think the ability to do it, or at least the will to pursue it and learn, is a rare gift. Perhaps it runs in families, though I have no direct evidence of that other than you and your great-grandfather. I also think that your gift has more to do with you than the clock. It is an artifact Dr. Drake made, and it certainly seems to have helped you in your battle. But your gift is inside you, and you don’t need the clock or anything else. As I said, it is a rare gift, and you should use it carefully and wisely.”
“I will, I promise.” Seeing her look, he added, “I really mean it.”
She paused again to sip her tea. “This all reminds me of an old idea, and maybe talking about it will help you to see the seriousness of this.”
Julian looked at her questioningly.
“I know that nowadays we tend to use the word “Faerie” just for childrens’ stories, and we tend to think of faeries as twee little Peter Pans. But the word is very old, and that dumbed down popular idea of it is certainly not the only way to think about it.”
By now Julian knew how Ms. Sayer was and so he restrained his questions, knowing that this was somehow relevant and that she would get to how in her own good time.
“The word is usually used to talk about a place, “faery land,” but at it’s heart “faerie” denotes that which is “fay.” The word comes from the Latin Fata, the Fates. Mysterious, timeless, supernatural, powerful, and in fact dangerous. The power that you have learned to use is of Faerie, Julian. It’s Fay. It’s dangerous. It is not evil, at least not if you appreciate what it is and are careful in how you use it. Dr. Drake seemed to have a deep understanding of that. But you musn’t forget the danger. The whole business of self-transcendence, of going beyond subject-object duality, is about eternity, and eternity, by its very nature, is a threat to our inherent biological disposition as timebound, self-centered animals. It’s not that the eternal is evil, quite the opposite, but it’s powerful and dangerous if not respected. That’s why Dr. Drake talks so much about motive. You have to be pure in motive and never try and use that power for anything else than good. I don’t think you are alone in being able to use this power, but you may find yourself being lonely. Be careful, but, and I think this is important, don’t be afraid to share your gift with those you trust. It is important for you to be connected to others; it will help you to retain the right perspective.”
In awe, Julian said, “It makes me feel like I have a special task, like a responsibility. But it also makes me feel strange. ‘Fay.’ I had never heard that word. Thank you. It does make it strike home. I will be careful. And I do think I have some I can trust. You, Tess, Ryan, Hieu. I would like to teach others if I can, especially Tess. She was able to reach into my mind there at the very end and keep me balanced until Ryan got the clock going.”
“I think that’s fine. Just consider carefully who and what you teach. This is a lot for someone your age––heck, someone of any age––to take on. But this is what you have been given, your fate, if you will. So I will assume that you are ready for it. You certainly have shown yourself to be so far.”
Ms. Sayer paused. “I know you are wondering about Mr. Stryker. I just don’t know. There are other sources of knowledge about magic out there; he must have found one, but unfortunately for him, it was dark magic. From what little I know, dark magic is easier to access, because using it draws on greed, hatred, and envy, things this world is all too blessed with.”
“Well, what he tried to do was bad, but what happened to him was worse. Horrible, awful. I ended up feeling sorry for him, and I think that was important.”
“Yes, I am sure it was. Compassion is an overlooked and undervalued feeling in our world. We should all cultivate it wherever we can. But especially those who can draw on power.” She smiled at Julian then, and he found himself feeling reassured.
“I know you know about this, and my friends do, but does Dr Stephens? Do I have to act differently around people?”
“I think you should just be yourself, and be careful about who you let know of your gifts. But remember that most people won’t believe it unless they see it, and even seeing it, they will be happy to grasp at some other explanation. That’s what the board did. Dr. Stephens, now, he is a shrewd man, and a wise one. I don’t think he knows, but he may suspect. That you will soon know, and it’s time you went to see him.”
Julian glanced at the clock and realized it was 10:45. he got to his feet. “OK, Ms. Sayer. Thanks for the tea. Thanks for everything.”
“Julian, you’re welcome. I ask just one thing: that you come to see me regularly. I want to make sure that you process all of this in a healthy way, and, I have to admit, I’m curious to learn more about how you really did this.”
~
Dr. Stephens was smiling when Julian entered his office, to sit down in an armchair at his invitation. The Headmaster, who now seemed himself again, kind, wise, and scholarly, sat down in the other armchair. He smiled again, and said, “Julian, thank you for coming. I and the school and perhaps especially the board owe you a great deal. I think that my job and the future of this institution were saved by your actions.”
“It wasn’t just me, sir. Ryan and Tess and Hieu were all involved.”
“Oh, I know. You were all deep in, I am sure. But somehow,” and here Dr. Stephens paused and look penetratingly at Julian, “I think that you were the impetus behind this. I think it had to do with Dr. Drake’s clock.”
Not sure what to make of this, Julian tried to change the subject. “What did the board decide to do, Dr. Stephens?”
“Well, it’s all good news. We have confirmed the research that Hieu did and taken it a little further. Not only did Mr. Stryker own a company, cleverly disguised, that had a controlling interesting in the firm that wanted to buy Parker’s Piece, but he also had connections to an education corporation, the kind of firm that takes over schools and runs them for profit, typically firing most of the staff in the process. This is all information that we should have discovered ourselves, but thankfully you all did so for us. The board has also issued a vote of confidence in my leadership, which was kind of them in the circumstances, and much appreciated. So, as I said, I owe you a lot.”
“Don’t worry about it, sir. I was just, I’ve, I’ve found a connection here, and I didn’t want that taken away.”
“Yes, I am very glad to see that. You also wanted to save the clock, didn’t you? It’s a remarkable device, very unusual.”
Julian looked into Dr. Stephens’ eyes for a moment, and then said blandly, “Yes, sir. It belonged to my great-grandfather, of course, and it’s connected to the school. I wanted to protect it, but even more I wanted to save the school.”
“So you are feeling better about this place, I take it?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve learned a lot in the last few months. Since my parents split up, I’ve been pretty withdrawn. But this year I think I’ve learned something about being at home. Before I didn’t feel at home anywhere, not at my house, not at school. I had no place that I belonged. I guess that’s what I needed, and I’ve found that here. I’ve also learned that I think having a place has to do with connections, with relationships . . . with people who care.”
Julian paused. “Yes. I think it’s the connections that make a place, not the place itself. I mean, this place is special, and special to me, but it’s special because of the relationships here. I know now that I have to create those relationships wherever I am, and if I do, then I’ll be at home.”
“That’s profound, Julian,” Dr. Stephens said. “If you have learned that this year, then you’ve learned much more than we can teach in our classrooms.” Dr. Stephens looked thoughtful for a minute. “I’ve learned something too,” he went on. “Do you remember when I told you I was curious about Dr. Drake’s clock, about why he called it a guide to headmasters? Well, I know now what he meant. Change is inevitable, and much of it is good and needed, but it must be change for the right reason, and not simply for greater wealth or power. I have a trust to see this school into the future, and I think we will see change, but without destroying the past, or Parker’s Piece! The clock seems somehow to discourage that kind of grasping for power, and that’s a good reason to keep it here at the heart of our campus.”
“Mr. Stryker certainly wanted to get rid of it, sir. Do you know how he found out about it?”
Dr. Stephens looked down for a moment, and grinned sheepishly. “Well, I’m afraid that I showed it to him and even showed him the inscription on the bottom.”
Julian stared, amazed.
“I was giving the new governors a tour of the campus, not long after we put the clock back in the library. I’m rather proud of it, so I made a point of showing it to them and telling them the story.”
Julian thought to himself, ‘So he must have realized what it was and that it was a threat to his plans . . .’
Out loud, he said, “You can’t blame yourself, sir. How could you have known?”
“Thank you, Julian, for that. Now is there anything else I can do?”
“Well, sir, just one question. What about Ms. Ackermann? I, uh, I think that she was working with Mr. Stryker. She published that editorial that was so critical of you, and I think, I think she is the one who stole the journal and the history of the school and the pieces from the clock. I know why Stryker wanted the clock out of commission, and I can see why he would want the journal, so no one would realize what the clock did. But why did she take the history and the deeds? What’s going to happen to her?”
Dr. Stephens looked at Julian for a moment, as if appraising him. “I cannot say much to you about Ms. Ackermann, as it would be a violation of her privacy. However, I think I owe you some explanation. It turns out that the documents related to Parker’s Piece showed that the Parker Family gave the land to the school in perpetuity, intending that it never be sold. There are no surviving members of the family, so no one would know unless they had the original documents. Those documents stood in the way of Mr. Stryker’s plan. And, you are correct, Ms. Ackermann was involved in the thefts, as I have learned, and the school will be responding. Apparently the journal and the clock were very difficult to destroy for some reason, though the history seems to be gone forever. That’s all I can tell you, and I ask that you keep this confidential.”
“OK. Thanks, Dr, Stephens. I really appreciate it.”
“You are welcome, Julian. Now, I am sure you want to enjoy the rest of your Saturday with your friends.”
~
The first thing Julian did after leaving Dr. Stephen’s office was to find Tess. She responded to his text and agreed to meet him under the oak that stood at the top of the Hill. He sat with his back to the trunk, and watched her walk over from Mcguire, her dark hair blowing freely in the wind. She’s always a mess, he thought. And I don’t care a bit.
“Alright, Julian?”
“Hey. I just thought, I, well, I wanted to say a few things to you, and tell you about my conversation with Ms. Sayer.”
Flopping down in the grass, she said, “It’s all been pretty crazy, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, it has.” Taking a breath, he said, “Tess, I want you to know that I heard––or felt––it when you reached out to me in the board room. That was really important: All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. I was teetering on the brink of the abyss, I think. I was about to lose it all, be engulfed.”
“But wasn’t it the clock that really helped you?”
“Yes, it did. Of course it did. But, those words from you, appearing in my mind . . . they helped me balance until the presence of the clock reached me. I wanted to thank you. I’m not sure I would be here without that.”
“We wouldn’t be here. But, OK. I’ll accept your thanks if you’ll take mine for including me in all this.”
Julian raised an eyebrow at her.
“Stop it, you jerk,” she said. “You know what I mean. This whole experience has been amazing. I am thrilled to be involved. Yes, it was terrifying, really scary there at the end. But, how could I miss that? I feel like I was in a Dr. Who episode or something.” She grinned then. “And that’s a good thing.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am sure.”
“Well, there’s something else. I think, maybe, I think you have the same ability, or I mean, I think you could learn. If you wanted to.”
“What? Me? Really?”
“Did you actually say those words from Julian of Norwich? “
“No . . . I thought them.”
“That’s what I thought. I wasn’t capable of hearing just then anyway, not with my ears. But I heard them in my mind.”
“Really? Wow.”
“That’s why I think you could learn this. Ms. Sayer and I talked more about the magic. She thinks that anyone can learn it, but that some people have an easier time of it. She thinks the clock is a help, but that it’s not necessary. She thinks some people have the knack for it, I guess.” Julian recounted the conversation and then said, “So it worries me some. It’s dangerous I guess, but I want to share it with you, if you’d like. I don’t want to be alone in this.”
“Julian, there’s nothing I’d like more. I would love that. Seriously. And I’m flattered. When do we get started?”
~
The school year still had a few weeks to go, and Julian found himself looking forward to quietly enjoying them. He had some good friends now. He was learning a lot. He actually liked it at St. E’s. He didn’t relish the thought of returning home to his parents and their new lives, and he didn’t want to say goodbye to Ryan or Hieu, or Ms. Sayer, or to Tess. While he might see Ryan over the summer, Tess was going back home to Scotland. He knew he would miss her. As those last weeks flew by—there were, after all, exams to get ready for–they found a little time to start a few basic lessons. But as Julian expected, in what time they had she picked it up quite naturally.
The four of them found themselves together the last night of the year, the Friday evening before the 9:00 am graduation ceremony on Saturday. By tradition, to honor the seniors, all underclass students stayed on campus and attended the ceremony before departing for home. The night before, all exams concluded and nothing left to do but pack, there was a celebration in the main quad. Teachers has strung lights in the branches of the huge old oak tree, and students milled about in groups. They listened to the music of a DJ or partook in a snow cone from one of the vendors the school had brought to campus or—the highlight of the evening—took turns throwing balls at the paddle trigger of a dunk tank. The first one in the tank was Dr. Stephens, followed by various teachers. By this point in the evening, some of the thrill of dunking teachers had worn off, replaced by the thrill of getting to be dunked. Ryan, Hieu, Tess, and Julian watched their fellow students jostle each other for a turn either to sit in the tank or to throw, each party taunting the other.
The line wound down, and suddenly Tess grabbed Julian’s arm, calling to Ryan to grab the other.
His sputtered protests, “Hey! No! What are you doing?!” were to no avail as he found himself next to climb into the tank, and he stopped struggling and resigned himself to climbing in after handing his cell phone over to Tess for safe keeping. Privately, it felt good to have friends, even friends who wanted to see him soaked. He also grinned inwardly, as he realized soaking was not necessarily the outcome. Climbing into the tank and perching himself on the rough wooden slat that served as a seat, Julian grinned at his friends and then closed his eyes, willing himself to be calm.
“Hold your nose, Julian!” Hieu called, as Ryan wound up and threw one of the balls hard at the paddle. Because it was Ryan, the ball conencted solidly on the first try, and the wooden seat collapsed, pitching Julian into the water below. He flounderd around for a minute and elimbed out the opposite side of the tank, and then down the ladder. His friends good-natured jeers turned to grins and protests as they saw that Julian was completely dry.
“Oy! Not fair! That’s a trivial use of magic if I ever saw one!” said Tess. Ryan and Hieu shushed her, as they all looked around. Fortunately, they saw, as Julian had, that they were the last to be interested, so no one had seen Julian’s performance. Julian sighed, looking around the quad at the scattered groups of students and teachers and at the moon shining above the huge oak. “Sorry, guys. I just couldn’t resist.” He paused, then went on to say, “I’m really going to miss you all this summer.”
Ryan looked at Tess, then at Hieu, before responding. “Yeah, we don’t blame ya. And we’re gonna miss you so much that next year we’ll learn enough from you to make sure you get wet.”
Julian looked at his friends and found that somehow he didn’t mind the prospect at all.
The End
Copyright 2021, Alfred Reeves Wissen.