Elizabeth was so angry with me that it came off her in waves that crashed into me. She pulled me into the kitchen and screamed at me, "I can't believe you! You promised me that you would not tell him, and now I don't know what is going to happen between David and me." She was so upset that she started to cry.
I put my arm around her and said, "I'm so sorry Elizabeth. I was not careful when I was talking about magic with them. Is there anything I can do to make it right? You know that I would do anything for you to help. I promise I will be more careful from now on. I will try to explain things to James if you want to go talk to David. I am sorry that being back has made things so difficult for you, maybe you should have left me trapped." Elizabeth looked at me for a long time.
"Mother, no, I have worked so long to bring you back. I am so happy that you are here with me. This is not your fault; I should have been more honest with David. I know that he is upset with me. I shouldn't be blaming you; I know that you didn't mean to let my secret out. You were just trying to help James." She says wiping her tears away. "I should talk to David and apologize to him."
"I will be more careful from now on," I promised, holding her close to me so that her horns bumped against my forehead. She gets up and walks out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her room. I go into the living room to see James still sitting on the couch looking shell-shocked.
"Do you have any questions I can answer for you?" I asked sitting next to him.
"So how long have you been alive? Why don't I have powers like my mom? he asks in a small voice.
"I was made roughly ten thousand years ago but for the last three thousand years I have been trapped in a gem prison, Elizabeth freed me three days ago. As for why you don't have powers like your mom, my best guess is that you are male and therefore your ability to inherit your mom's powers was blocked. Why don't you have powers like your dad and having power like me is more troubling."
"My magic was created by eating the seed of the Tree of Knowledge and through the magic of arch angels. I should not be able to pass those powers on to anyone else," I say to him. "I will find out how this happened and I will help you access your magic and control it. You must be careful not to pull too much magic from your well at once because it can destroy not only you but a city as well depending on your focus."
"I cannot believe that my mom is a succubus, I knew she was different than any other humans I had ever seen, but I never would have guessed that she was a succubus. And you, you are my grandmother. Yet, you still look like you are 16 like me. This is so strange, I'm not even sure what to make of it all. What do I call you, I can't go around calling you grandma?" He confides in me.
I pause before I start to answer him, "Lilith, just call me Lilith. Believe me, I know how strange all this is for you. I've lived a long time and seen many people I know and care about grow old and die while I continue to live in this young body. I was lucky to have Shar'la your other grandmother, your mom, and her sisters to help me get through this long life that I have been living. I have trouble imagining what it has been like for you since your mom when I was gone. Most people would think that immortality would be the best thing in the world, but like everything else in life it has its drawbacks."
"Let's go outside and I can show you a little of what I can do with magic and you can get a feeling of what it is like for me," I say getting up from the chair I was sitting in. We walk to the back door and into the backyard. It was a nice big fenced-in yard with a small flower garden. I look at the garden and wonder why Elizabeth hasn't done anything to make it bigger. Bringing my magic up to my hands I place my hands on the ground near the flowers. Closing my eyes, I imagine flowers growing around me. More and more fill the area around me, more exotic than any flower that was in the garden. Vines wrapped around the trees creating a canopy that created a small shaded area. In the center of the new garden a small pond formed at the foot of a small waterfall.
I managed to fill the garden with a variety of colors and textures that I have seen throughout my life. I open my eyes and look around at the garden and smile. It looks exactly like the garden we used to have in the cave that we lived in before my capture. I turn to a wide-eyed James and smile, "I've always loved gardens."
Feeling the power that I expended while making the garden caused David and Elizabeth to run out of the back of the house. David looked around in shock at how I changed the yard. He was at a loss for words, but Elizabeth was looking around, tears falling from her eyes. "Mother this looks like the garden we had before you left. When you left your garden wilted and died, we could not keep it up the same as you could. I have missed this garden so much, it reminds me of the times when we were all together and happy," she says to me with a look of love. It warmed my heart to see how much she loved this garden.
David finally found his words and asked, "how were you able to do all this in such a short time? This would have taken six wizards a week to accomplish." A look of amazement was on his face as he realized how powerful I must be.
"David, all I did was direct the magic into the ground with the will to create this garden, it's really simple. All my magic requires is a spark of magic and my will to shape it." I smiled at him and offered him a small green gem that I made.
"So, you can use all elements of magic?" David asked.
"No, I don't use magic as elements. The magical energy I pull into me is shaped by my will and my purpose. I don't see the energies as elements, so I am not limited by them." I watch as David's eyes go wide with the realization that the way I used magic was very different than the way wizards are taught to use magic.
Wizards are taught that if they were to pull magic into themselves, they would destroy themselves. They must learn to control the magic outside of their bodies and this causes them to be limited to what they can achieve as and how much of their will they can infuse into the magical energies they manage to tap into. With this limited influence of their will, they must learn to use elements that are more natural to them. This causes wizards to have to focus on certain elements rather than all of them to achieve their goals. A focus item is needed to give the wizard more control over the energy.
It's no wonder that James was having so much trouble performing magic, he wasn't being taught how to use his power correctly. I thought to myself. "James, I want you to create a flower on that patch of ground," I point to a small area clear of any other growth. "Just like before I want you to feel the magic in your body and then push that power out telling it to create a flower."
He looks at me as if he can't believe what I'm saying, "I don't know how to do that."
"James like I said before the energy is in your body feel it and give it purpose and then tell it to create a flower. You must control the magic as you would your body." I guide him to the spot I want the flower to be. He bends down putting his hands on the ground as I did before. He closes his eyes and I can feel his power start to flow through him. The power swirls and starts growing, it's too much power. I yell, "Stop," but it's too late he and I are thrown back as the ground explodes in front of us. I pick myself up and look at the spot only to see a crater where there should have been a flower.
David and Elizabeth rush over to help James, asking him if he is alright. He ends up being dazed and covered in dirt, but otherwise fine. "What was that?" he asks, looking over at me.
As I shake the dirt off me, I can't help but smile, "That was you putting too much magic into your purpose causing it to explode with the remaining energy. We are going to have to work on your flow control so that you don't push too much power when it's not necessary."
David looks at me with a raised eyebrow, "He could have been hurt, and you are smiling."
I can't help but laugh, "I had everything under control, I protected him with a shield when I saw him pushing too much power. It protected us both from any serious injuries."
"James, could you feel the magic swirling around inside you?" I ask.
"It felt like I was fighting to get it to go in the right direction." He replies to me.
"What you did by focusing so much on the direction of flow you lost sight of the purpose. As you swirled the magic around you it pulled the energy surrounding you into the vortex causing the power to grow uncontrollably. If I were to try to do what you just did, I could release enough energy to equal a nuclear bomb. You must be very careful about how you control the amount of magic you let flow through your body. It was a good first step though." I smile as I help him up.
"Mother, I saw the aftermath of your battle with Michael and Lucifer, was that you that destroyed Atlantis?" She looks at me.
"That was what happened when I used my magic with an uncontrolled and unexpected flood of energy from Lucifer. I tried to direct it out to sea. The next thing I remember was waking up in the motel with you. It would not have happened if I had not been so focused on Michael that I missed Lucifer joining the fight. If it was up to me, I would not have met Michael near the island in the first place. They controlled the fight from the beginning and I was never able to go on the offensive," I explain with a heavy sigh.
"David clears his throat and gestures towards the house. Maybe we should all clean up and get some dinner and try to think of happier things." He looks at me and I nod.
After we finished cleaning up and getting dinner, we sat back in the garden just getting to know each other better. I had lots of questions for David, which he was happy to answer. David spent the time getting to know the real Elizabeth, which only included more history than he was aware of.
We spent the next week visiting and I taught James how to control his magic. He still causes an explosion when he tries to make a flower but they are so much smaller now. Elizabeth and David have also been teaching me about wizard magic and wizard society and laws. I have a feeling that their fears of me turning everything on end will come true. The more I learn about the council the more I want to destroy it. It is set up to benefit the oldest families and keep down any new rising powers.
It is finally the night before we are to leave for school and I can't seem to sleep, the worry of what is going to happen tomorrow running through my head. Tossing and turning for a long time I finally fell asleep.
