After seeing his brother and sister-in-law off, David pulled out his briefcase he had brought along. This is what he had run by his house to grab. He needed several things from it before he went back into the kitchen to talk to the others. The first thing he got out was a large leather bound book. The other item was his laptop computer. One of the benefits given to all Council interviewers was an electronic listing of Wizard genealogy. This would help to see where Eli's heritage lies. Even though David had the blood proof that Eli was the Dexas, he still wanted to have the documentation before he talked to anyone.
David had several members of the Wizard Council who were loyal to him. He knew that Steven had several as well. For the most part, the Wizard Council was honestly working for the benefit of the Wizard world, but there were several who were out for their own power. These were the Wizards whom David was worried about. It was for these Council members that David needed to keep the truth about Eli quiet for now. He really needed David to gain more of his natural gifts before letting the Council know he exists. It would be better for Eli if he could wear The Wizard Heart. The Wizard Heart gives the Dexas special gifts, gifts that would help protect Eli from those who would want to hurt him.
David opened the leather book to the page he was looking for. David had never heard of the mistake repair gift Eli was showing. The book he had was the life history of the last known Class I, the Wizard King. This book was written by the wife of the Wizard King. As David was reading, Sherry had come into the room to see what was taking so long. She watched as David skimmed through the pages of the old book.
"It is just what I thought; Eli is going to be very powerful. The Mistake Repair gift Eli has isn't a known gift. It is not unheard of a new unregistered gift to show up in a young Wizard, however, none are ever this powerful. This gift combines several advanced active gifts in one, Time Manipulation and Levitations to name the big ones. Levitation in its self is a rare gift, but to have it with Time Manipulation is unheard of. What this is telling me is that as of right now, Eli is in danger. We have some decisions that need to be made. I promise you this; I will give my life to protect Eli!"
"Thank you David. That means the world to me. Then I take it Eli is the Class I?" Sherry asked.
"Yes, the blood test confirmed it. I will be his trainer. What I need to do now is talk with Eli, your father, and you to let everyone know what is going on and what needs to happen. So, what say you and I head in there and get this started?"
David grabbed the leather book and his laptop and followed Sherry back into the kitchen. Sherry got the coffee pot and refilled everyone's cup and asked Eli if he wanted anything to drink, he asked for a coke. After getting his drink, and a plate of store bought cookies, she took a seat at the table.
"Elijah, we need to talk to you about what is going to happen. There are some things you will have a voice in deciding, but some of the items you might not. As I told you yesterday at the start of all this you have rights. Right now, however, your Mother and Grandpa have more rights than you because of your age. Please keep this in mind while we talk about what is going to happen. Also please know that even though the adults have final say, I promise you I will take what you think into consideration before making a final decision. Can you agree to at least trying to keep an open mind?"
"Yes Sir, I can try."
"Eli, you don't have to call me Sir."
"I do if you are going to call me Elijah!" He fired back.
"Fair enough, however I was just trying to let you know how serious I was being. George, do you have any questions regarding the Wizard world before we get started. Anything you might not understand?"
"Nope, I have a fairly good grasp on how the Wizard world is set up because of an old Army buddy of mine. He is a Class IV Wizard who helped me during battle once, after that time I have picked his brain for hours on end trying to know everything there is to know about Wizards."
"Are you still in contact with this Wizard Army buddy of yours?"
"Oh yes, he lives in town not far from my farm. He, Matt and I still go fishing quite often as well as have dinner at each other's places at least once a week. All of us are widowers, why?" George asked with confusion on his face.
"Because we could use all the friendly Wizards on our side we can get while Eli is in training. The more eyes we have out there, the better we can protect Eli." David replied seriously.
"Are all young Wizards in danger? You make it sound like people would hurt me if they found out that I was an untrained Wizard." A frightened sounding boy asked.
"No, young Wizards are not normally in danger, even untrained Wizards. You however, are not like other young untrained Wizards." David answered trying not to scare Eli further.
"Why, is it because I am so small?"
"No Eli, it is because you are so powerful!" David told him with pride showing in his eyes.
"Then I don't understand why I would be in danger."
"David, I know you might not think it is a good idea at this time, but you have to open up to him. He has a right to know the truth about what is going on and what is happening to him." Sherry said reaching across the table grabbing David's hand.
"Very well then." David said taking a deep breath, "Eli, there is no easy way into this, so I am just going to come out and tell you. You are the Dexas. This is why your very life could be in danger if you were to be found out before you had a chance to gain all your natural gifts and be able to control them. There are those in the Wizard World who would kill you to prevent you from taking control of the Council of WizardsCouncil. As the Dexas you are the rightful leader of the Wizard World and the Council of Wizards. You also are the rightful voice to other governments throughout the world. You are the King of the Wizards."
"You have got to be kidding me? There is no way I am the Dexas! I don't believe you!"
"Eli, look inside you. I believe you will see the truth in which I speak. Repeat the words, Eli you are the Dexas, to yourself just as I spoke them, then see the truth." David did not know if this was going to work or not, but it was worth a chance. He knew that he would have to prove this gift to Eli in order for it to work. "Eli, do you see anything about the words?" When the boy shook his head David continued, "Now I want you to do that same thing with what I am about to say, Eli last night I made a phone call and made it so you graduated from High School early."
Eli's eyes shot open when he heard that statement. But he soon closed them and tried to do what David had said and repeat what David said to himself and look at the words. They did look a bit different but he didn't understand why.
"I am still not seeing anything." The boy said.
"Okay, now Eli, I am going to try something else. Think before you act, but look at the words like I told you. Are you ready?" David waited tell the boy nodded his head. "Eli, I am sorry but last night while driving here, your Grandpa was killed in a car crash."
Eli's eyes popped open, first he looked at his grandpa sitting there, then he glared at David. Slowly he saw what David was trying to do so he closed his eyes and repeated David's words. The words were black to him. When he repeated what David had said earlier about him being the Dexas, he saw the words glowed.
"Oh My God, you were telling the truth, I am the Dexas!" Eli exclaimed.
"Yes, I was. Now Eli, how did you come to understand that?" David always the teacher asked.
"I looked at what you said about Grandpa dieing and saw the words were black and I knew it wasn't true, but when I looked at the other statement, it was kind of glowing. Does this mean I have a new gift?"
"Yes, my boy it does mean just that. This is called the Gift of Truth. It is one of the more common gifts that young Wizards get, but it is an important one to master, and you are well on your way. One of the things you will need that gift for is when you meet other Wizards you will have to use that to see if they are a threat to you or not."
"Okay, that I can understand. How long before I get the rest of my gifts, if any?"
"There is no way for me to answer that. It could be a few months, or it could be a few years. Normally it takes a few years for a young Wizard go gain their gifts; however, normally they also don't get their first gifts until they are at least well into puberty. With you there is no telling because you have defied logic by gaining not one but multiple gifts before even entering puberty. Any other questions before we start talking about how to train you and keep you safe at the same time?"
Once everyone shook their heads, David took a few deep calming breaths before starting with his ideas.
"Alright, I thought about this hard last night as I had my suspicions about Eli. But before I start with what ideas I have come up with, we need to talk about how to address Eli. Normally a Wizard such as myself would refer to him as the Dexas or address him as His Highness. With the way things are, I think it would be safer if we didn't use those terms. So what I really need, is permission from Eli, to refer to him as something other than his title or Your Highness."
"You mean, if I don't tell you it's alright to call me, Eli or something like that, you have to call me 'His Highness', or 'the Dexas'?"
"Yes, that is correct. I think it would be very dangerous for you if I was to call you Your Highness while we were in public, or the Dexas."
"Yeah, but that is kind of cool!" Eli started before he was interrupted by his grandpa.
"Your right Eli, that is cool, but being dead isn't! This isn't a game damn it! I want you to remember that. Your birth Mother went to a lot of trouble to make sure you stayed safe, this is why! She knew in her heart you were someone very special." George scolded the boy.
"I am sorry Grandpa, I know this is serious. I think you could call me Eli, or a nick name you come up with. Earlier you called me Bud, so something like that would be fine with me. Do I have to put it in writing so you don't get into trouble or something?"
"No, as long as we both know that you gave me permission it works." Before he could go on, Matt came into the kitchen.
"Mind if I join the meeting? For some reason I woke up feeling like I was needed down here."
"That is up to Eli to decide if you sit in for this." David said gesturing over to Eli.
"You are more than welcome Uncle Matt! You are family, and family never needs to ask if they are wanted." David could already tell this young King was going to be a great ruler for the Wizard World. Once Matt had grabbed a glass of juice and pulled up a chair, David continued.
"Just so you are up to speed Matt, do you know what the Dexas is?" David waited for Matt to nod, "well, it turns out that Eli here is the Dexas." Matt gasped knowing what this would mean.
"Things are a bit more complex than just him being the new Dexas, I am sorry Eli, but he hasn't even started puberty yet has received several gifts. This is completely unheard of in the Wizard World, and I couldn't find any mention of it in the written history. This is all the proof I need to know that Eli is going to be the most powerful Dexas of all time, but it also proof that his life is in danger until he gains all of his natural gifts and the Wizard Heart as well. Until that time comes, we must keep what and who he is secret from the Council of Wizards. I know there are at least two Council members who do not want a new Dexas found, they want the power of the Council for themselves. I am sure one of them is behind the death of Eli's birth parents and their families. I have decided I would like the honor of being Eli's trainer, with his permission."
"Really?! That would be awesome! Can he Mom?" Everyone at the table chuckled a bit at the boy's excitement and him asking his mothers permission. The adults didn't think that this boy had grasped the aspect that he was the ruler of an entire race of people.
"Not that you would need my permission Son, but I do approve of David being your Wizard Trainer. Thank you David." Sherry said giving the man a smile.
"No thanks needed. Now, one of the problems with training a normal Wizard is finding the space to do so without anyone noticing. This is going to be even more difficult with Eli being here in the city. What I would really like to do is move the two of you, along with me, out to the country somewhere. That way we would have the room to train without being seen. Now, I am prepared to resign from my position at the school and find a teaching job wherever we find a place that will work for us. That is if it is alright with the two of you, as well?"
"You mean you would quit your job to move with us so that I can train?" The boy asked in wonder.
"Yes Eli, I would do that for you. Training you will be the most important thing I have ever done in my life. I must stress that we won't be able to do it very well if we stayed here in the city. Also, I would feel better if I was able to get a job at the school you would be attending. It would draw too many questions if I went from the high school to the middle school here in the same school district. So a change of towns would be much better for us, well me."
"What about my fish? I can't just up and leave them."
"We will have to find a way to get the new set up you designed built and then move the fish as fast as we can. We can still keep your fish business going, but there might be some changes that have to be made. But, that we can decide at a later date. For right now, what if we talk Stephen into coming by daily to care for your fish, and you and I make a trip into town every other week to do any orders that might come in. This will only be until the new tanks are up and running, then we will move everything out to the new place." David knew that the fish might cause a major problem with Eli.
"Couldn't we wait until we get the new tanks up and running before we move?" Eli asked.
"We could, but there might be problems if you gain any more gifts while we are still here. See, one of the things I need to do is wipe Stephen's memory of you being the Dexas as well so that the Council can't pick it up from him by reading him. If he doesn't know that you're the Dexas, he can't help protect you at school. I wouldn't be able to be there if we stayed here, or be able to help you should a new gift pop up during school. It could take up to three weeks you said to get the new tanks built, and that is after we find a place. You can't miss that much school and it could be too dangerous to be in school without a trained Wizard there to protect you."
"I might be able to narrow that time down a bit." Matt said with a serious expression on his face. "You see, I have been giving it a lot of thought to moving into town and retiring from the farm. If you were to take over my place, there is a building there already where young Eli could set up his tanks."
"You mean that brand new workshop you had built but have never used?" George asked with a hint of laughter. "Damn that would give him about five times the space he has now."
At the mention of the amount of space Eli's eyes got really big and a huge smile broke out across his face.
"Then I could really expand my company!" the 11 year old exclaimed.
"But, where would you go Matt?" George asked his old friend.
"Well, ever since Patty died, I have hated living in the old house. There are way too many memories around every corner, plus I just don't like living alone. So I thought I might move into the new retirement community down in Dyersville or something." Matt said looking down at his hands.
"My old friend, why didn't you say something? You damned old fool, you don't need to go down to Dyersville to live, hell, I have been feeling a bit lonely as well. If I am seeing things the right way, we are both going to be needed to help protect Eli from being found out. What say you sell me your place, and then move into mine along with me? That way the kids could have your old place to train Eli and house his fish." George said with a chuckle in his voice.
"But, why would I sell you my place. If David wants to buy it, then I will just sell it to him?" Matt asked.
"Well, I figure that if I buy it, and let them live on it, then there would be no paper trail for the Council to find David, but if he bought it there would be. Plus, I have more money than any of you."
Before David could get a word in, Matt wasn't finished.
"The hell you do! I tell you what, Eli, why don't you buy my place from me, and we will put it in your company name, that way it will help you on the taxes. I will sell it to you for a lease to own, at $1000 per year, how does that sound?"
"Um, I don't know what that means Uncle Matt." The boy said biting his lip and feeling really out of place.
"Well, what Uncle Matt is saying Dear, is you would have full rights to his place, and would be buying it from him by paying him $1000 per year until you paid the whole thing off."
"But, for how long would I have to pay?"
"Well, I know that Matt's place is worth around $750,000 with the land, house, and buildings." George started to work out how much his grandson should pay for this deal.
"That is about right, so I would say that we agree on $100,000 for the whole lot. If you agree with that, then we will get it written up into a legal contract and go from there. What do you say?"
"Umm, if it's worth $750,000 why would you sell it for $100,000?" The boy asked.
"Well, truth be told, you don't have to pay me anything for it. You could just wait until I die!" Matt laughed. "See, as you know Patty and I never had any children, and her nephews are worthless in my book. Hell boy, you are already more of a man then those two ever will be. So, I have already made arrangements in my will that you get everything I have when I die. What I plan on doing is simple, the money you pay me for the land, will go right back into the same bank account you will get when I die. In the contract for the Lease to Own for the land, I will have the added amendment that once I die, the deed is marked paid in full and turned over to you. This way you are protected from the huge amount of taxes you would have to pay if I just gifted the place to you."
"What do you think Grandpa?"
"Eli, I think you need to use one of your gifts to look at what your Uncle Matt is saying and see for yourself." George said to Eli.
Eli closed his eyes and looked at what his Uncle had said, he saw the glowing truth in the words from his Uncle.
"He is telling me the truth in what he wants to do. I see no reason why we shouldn't make this deal. The only thing I don't like is leaving my Fish behind."
"Well, this building on Uncle Matt's place is ready for your fish today. All we would need to do is pack them up, hire a moving company and have the tanks moved. There is more than enough room to still build the new tanks just the way you want them. And, I am sure that your mom would help you invest in the new tanks. I will help you cover the cost of moving the existing tanks out if you need it." George told his grandson with a huge smile on his face.
Having Matt move in with him would help him out with the loneliness he has been suffering, and having his Daughter and Grandson nearby was a dream come true for him.
"Eli, once this house sells, I will give you 75% of the proceeds to help with the new tanks and setting up your company at the new location. After all, it sounds like your company is going to be paying for my house." Sherry laughed.
"If I am going to be allowed to live there as well, then you will expect me to help pay for everything as well. If you do not want me to live in the house with you, then I will buy an RV and park it near one of the barns. This way I am handy when it is time to train and nearby in order to provide protection." David said.
"I think it would be cool if we, I mean you had an RV, but I really don't see any reason you couldn't live in the house with us, do you mom."
Even though Sherry was blushing, no one said a word about it.
"I see no reason what so ever why David couldn't live in the main house with us." She said without looking at anyone.
"Then I will get started calling some moving companies to find out the cost of moving the tanks. Eli, can you tell me how long we will have before it becomes dangerous to the fish to be out of their tanks?" George asked his grandson.
"Well, as long as I can set up the boxes right, they will be fine for about 24 hours, but I would really like to keep it down to around 12 or less. There will be a few things I will have to go and buy in order to make this move safer for my rays, but the other fish will be fine." The boy answered like a professional.
"Okay, then you need to make a list of what we need to go get. Eli, even though you training to be a Wizard is very important, we will still make sure you have everything you need to keep your business going. David, how long will you need to finish things up in order to be ready to move?" Sherry was starting to take control of the move already.
"Honestly, I don't need all that much time. The house I live in is the carriage house on my brother's place. I rent from them. So I will just need to pack up my clothes and personal things. No more than a few hours or so. What I was thinking was that Eli and I could go over and pack my stuff today, then be back here for dinner. I still do not like the idea him being without me around even for a few hours. Umm, Sherry, I do need to come up with a reason to tell my Brother and Sister-in-law about why we are moving."
"Well, you said you had to wipe your brother's memory, right?" Eli asked, when David nodded the boy went on, "Well, if I understand what you told mom last night, you have the gift to add memories after you wipe them, correct?"
"Yes I do, but I still need to know what the story is in order for that to work. I can do a Memory Cleansing on both Stephen and Karen but I want them to remember who I am, after all he is my twin." David said a little worried Eli wanted him to remove himself from Stephen's memory completely.
"Yeah, I don't want Uncle Stephen to forget me either! So, all you have to do is create the memory of you and Mom dating for a long time, and that you are going to get married. That way we can explain why you are going to be living with us as well as the move." Eli said with a smug look on his face.
"Elijah! What on earth are you talking about? We are not dating, nor are we planning on getting married!"
"Yeah I know MOM! What I am talking about is simple. We need a reason why all of a sudden we are going to be moving 6 hours away, and why David is moving with us. Well, if you two were going to be getting married, which I think is a great idea by the way, then it would all make since. See, as a wedding gift, we could always say that Uncle Matt is giving you his farm, and that is why we are moving there. I think it explains it all." The smug look from the boy just got stronger.
"I have to admit, the little snot has a great point. I agree with his logic and would recommend you go with that plan, unless that is you come up with something better to explain everything." George said, trying not to laugh out loud.
"Stephen is here." A stunned Eli commented out of the blue.
"What, are you sure?" David said before scanning the area for his twin. He could normally feel his twin a long way off, but somehow Eli had beat him to it. "You are right, Eli, did you actively scan for him, or did you just feel him?"
"I guess I was actively scanning without really knowing I was. I mean I knew he was due back so I guess I was looking for him." Eli replied thinking he had done something wrong.
"Well, we can add that to the list of growing gifts. Way to go Bud! I am proud of you for controlling yet another gift." David said with pride. "If you keep this up, you won't need me to be your trainer for much longer." He laughed.
"I will always need you as my trainer, who knows if I will ever stop getting new gifts, Daddy!" The boys said with a smile and ran out of the room to answer the front door to his teacher.
"Uncle Stephen! Your back! What took you so long?" Eli said throwing himself at Stephen as soon as he opened the door.
"Uncle Stephen? What in the world is going on?" He asked his twin.
"Well, we have decided to move to Uncle Matt's farm near Dyersville. But we need a story that would explain why I am moving along with Sherry and Eli. So, Eli has come up with the crazy idea that Sherry and I are getting married, which makes you his uncle, and that Uncle Matt is giving us his farm as a wedding present. The truth is he is giving the place over to Eli's company at a very low rate, but it will allow for the perfect place for Eli to train as well as allow me to switch schools to be near him most of the time."
"So, you plan to cleanse my memory as well. Damn I figured you would do that as soon as you asked me to cleanse Karen's. Then let me guess you are going to manipulate our memories to the fact you have been dating Sherry for a while now, and you plan on marrying her. You know I really hate that!" Stephen said to his twin.
"I know you do Big Brother! But, do you honestly think Eli would be safe with the Council knowing he is who and what he is until he has all of his gifts and can claim the Wizard Heart?"
"No I don't!"
"And, do you think you would have the power to keep the entire Council out of your head to protect Eli?"
"No I don't! I do have a suggestion though for you to add to your plan. The Council has not had an assignment for you for over a year, so they have no clue what you have been up to. My suggestion is that you claim Eli as your trainee as a Class V Wizard, that way you don't have to hide the fact you are training him. The fact that he is your soon to be Step-Son would give you all the explanation why you would take him on as a trainee seeing how he is only a Class V. With the Council knowing you only train Class III and Class II, having a Step son who is only a Class V would put him way beneath the Council radar purely out of respect for the highest regarded trainer in the Council."
"Okay I like that, but, who would his Wizard Father be? With a non Wizard Mother, he would have had to been at least a high IV." David asked.
"Why not use my real Father, he knew Mom while he was in college with her, so it wouldn't be that far of a stretch. No one needs to know that she isn't my birth mother." Eli said with a smile. "The more we lie about this the easier it would be for us to trip up and make a mistake. So, David and my Mom are going to get married, and my Birth Father is really my father."
"I think that is a great plan Eli!" George said with a laugh. "David, Stephen needs a new memory of his Nephew, then you and your Son need to go and get your place packed. Eli, before you leave, get me the list of things you need to get in order to move your rays. Let's go people, we got things to do." George, allowing the Sergeant Major in him to come out, got everyone moving.
While David worked on Stephen's memories, Sherry was trying to plan the move. What she figured was that she would pack her personal things along with having Eli pack his, and then they would let the movers pack and move everything else. She figured she would be ready to move in about a week. Seeing how today was Thursday, that would put them at the new place by the following weekend.
I would really like to thank THE STORY LOVER for editing this work for me. Please let me know what you think.