I'm an Illusionist by trade, My future is looking dark

I should not have cast Real Magic
I woke up this morning with a heavy case of night sweats.
I need to call my supplier, I?m running low. So low. My head?s throbbing and I?m hearing voices.
It?s not Rose, she?s? so quiet now. That?s a good thing. It is. It isn?t. She?s just asleep. Plants aren?t like people. Just because she?s gone doesn?t mean she?s gone.
I dreamt of a redhead last night. Beautiful, red hair, soft skin, pink eyes, I think she?s my angel. Beautiful all together.
I have to gather my thoughts. They arrested me, last I left off. Let me tell you how I got to America.
...
It was a few days later when I stood before the court for a formal arraignment. I couldn?t afford a lawyer, so they picked one for me. I was certain I wasn?t winning the case, so the one assigned to me sat me down and started to work out the proceedings.
?While I?m assigned by the court,? he explained, going over the details, ?I have to advise you that there?s little way you will prevail. That will cause a fee.?
I sighed, never do bad things in Germany, ?I cannot afford such a thing.?
?If it helps,? he explained, ?I see no point in you having a lawyer. You refuse to tell anyone how your trick works, which is your only hope. If you explain that the accident was unexpected and that it was, say, a failed mechanic or something that isn?t your direct responsibility. That is your only hope.?
My hands ran through my hair as I said, for the millionth time, ?I will not explain the trick.?
?Then you will go to jail to protect your trade,? he said as he stood, ?admirable, but mostly stupid.?
He shut his briefcase, ?Your choices are to plead guilty to the crime at your arraignment, where you?ll face sentencing. I doubt the court will look favorably upon you, even if you admit fault. The only other option is to submit a plea of no contest, which is similar but, again, just save your pride. Outside of that, I?m afraid I cannot help you. If you plead not guilty, again, good luck finding someone to defend the indefensible without a fee,? he turned and walked out.
I grumbled to myself, ?Germans??
My gaze moved up to the ceiling as I leaned back, ?a man who defends himself has a fool for his client.? I said to the ceiling. ?Seems grandmama was right, I am a fool.?
A bailiff came in, ?Mr. Alexander??
?Alexandrata,? I correct as I get to my feet.
The bailiff towers over me, ?Follow me.?
Moments like this I am reminded, woefully, of my stature. The bailiff is not tall by most standards, but I am short by far more. I stand only 169cm tall, as the man escorting me is at least a 180cm.
He leads me to a courtroom where I?m sat down on the left-hand-side, alone.
To the right, I see a few people come in. The prosecutor, a few others here and there, I think one is the court record keeper, can?t recall the name of those people at the moment.
My stomach dropped as I spotted Hannah walk in and sit behind the prosecutor.
Before I could look away, I caught her hateful gaze. I didn?t think she could be here, could she? Why was she here? Maybe I could apologize? My hands fiddled with a bit of paper in front of me, blank like my mind was.
My actions mangled Hannah?s hand, but I wondered if there was some kind of magic I could use to fix it? I knew healing spells, but the most I ever did was to fix a deep stab wound that cousin Florin got when he tried to pick the wrong pocket.
My thoughts were so frantic that I barely registered as the judge had entered and now shouted at me, agitated.
?Mr. Alexandrata?? she growled.
I shot to my feet, ?S-sorry your honor,? I looked around to see everyone standing.
?Thank you,? she said, giving me an exasperated look. Her hair was black, permed, and she wore large-****** glasses. ?Please, be seated.?
I nodded, sitting, ?S-sorry, again, I?m just nervous.?
The judge stared at me again, looking to my right, ?Mr. Alexandrata, do you not have counsel??
?No your honor, we had a disagreement,? I explained.
?You?ll have time to seek new counsel before the trial, I suggest you do so, considering the charges levied against you,? she explained.
?Yes, your honor,? I said, looking to the table.
?Those charges are: Criminal Negligence bordering on Gross Negligence. Do you understand the charges levied against you??
?Yes your honor,? I answered.
?How do you plead?? she asked.
I frowned, ?I?? as I thought back to what my lawyer had said, I decided to not go with his advice, ?Your honor I don?t know what to say. I never intended to hurt anyone.?
She gave me a deadpan stare, ?Guilty, or Not Guilty, Mr. Alexandrata, that?s all we need for today.?
?It was an accident?? I began.
?Mr. Alexandrata, have you ever been to court before?? the judge asked.
?No, your honor.?
The judge sighed, ?As this is your first time, I?ll afford you this courtesy: this is your arraignment. This is only where I make you aware of what the charges are, ensure you understand them and listen to your plea. If you were to plead guilty I would move on to assessing the damages, which include medical bills for the plaintiff and a fine, or jail time, if you cannot pay your debt.?
?Thank you, your honor,? I said as she explained my situation.
She continued, ?This is not, however, where you defend yourself. If you feel you?re not responsible for the injuries caused to the plaintiff then state you are not guilty, and I will set a date for your formal trial, understand??
?In that case, your honor, I would like to plead not guilty,? I informed her.
I could hear Hannah scoff.
?Very well,? she turned to the prosecutor, ?We?ll schedule a court date two months from now, until that Mr. Alexandrata I?m afraid I must have you surrender your passport to the court until such a time as this court determines your guilt and punishment. Should you not show up we will consider this as a guilty verdict and you will suffer a fine and suffer a penalty for missing your court date.?
The prosecutor stood, ?thank you, your honor.?
The judge now stood, ?See you all again in two months,? she left.
I looked to see everyone standing up, and I did so. Before I left, a bailiff approached me.
?Passport??
I reached into my pocket and handed my passport over to him. It would appear I was staying for some time.
Almost everyone was out of the room by the time I handed my passport over to the bailiff and signing all the paperwork to confirm that I handed over the passport.
As I walked out of the courtroom and made my way down the hallway, someone grabbed me and pulled me into a restroom.
I gasped, but a hand soon covered my mouth. The angry eyes of Hannah greeted me.
?Say a word and I will deck you,? she threatened.
I nodded.
She removed her hand, glaring at me, ?What did you do to me you little prick??
?I?m sorry! It was a mistake, I never-?
Hannah held up her hand as I spoke. The hand I had mutilated had a leather glove over it. With her free hand, she pulled the glove off, revealing a hand, of sorts.
Instead of flesh, black, purple vines, thorns, and roots covered the hand.
?What,? she hissed, ?did you do to me??
My eyes were wide as I looked over her hand, ?Oh my God.?
Roots dug into her wrist, where her flesh began again, but I could see blue marks under her skin where the roots were clearly digging into flesh.
My hand gingerly touched her wrist, and I felt a pulse, the plant-like growth was feeding off of her blood like water. The glove starved the plant for sunlight, I could tell.
?It needs sunlight?? I said, without thinking.
She growled, and slapped me across the face with her hand, the thorns on her hand scratching my face, ?Fix it, you witch!? she winced, ?It hurts so bad??
?Because it needs sunlight,? I said, stumbling to the mirror to see the scratches she left on my face. It was not unlike a cat had attacked me. The wounds stung as I washed them out with water.
Hannah walked over to a window, moving her hand into the sunlight. She shuddered a bit, ?oh.?
?Is the pain gone?? I asked.
?Subsiding,? she glared at me, ?can you fix it, or not??
I groaned, ?I? I can?t heal a hand that is uninjured.?
?What uninjured?!? She shouted, moving her hand from the sun, which had grown greener. As she advanced on me, I watched as more thorns grew on her plant-like hand. They grew thicker, sharper, and blacker than the ones there earlier. The vines and roots thickened, making her hand appear larger. She made a fist, the thorns all shifting towards the front of it as if she would stab me with them.
I stumbled back, eyes wide at the sight.
Hannah glanced at her hand and screamed, ?No! No stop! Not again!?
?Shush!? I shouted, ?You?ll draw attention!?
Hannah rushed back to the light, putting her hand back under it. She groaned as if she were putting a burned hand in cold water.
I approached her, watching as the thorns shrank back and her hand changed in size to what I would consider normal.
?Please, Please fix me,? Hannah begged, ?I?ll drop the charges if you can fix me.?
?There?s nothing to fix, the magic is in place,? I looked over her hand, ?but? I can at least show you how to manage it.?
?Manage it?? she growled, the thorns growing again. She now closed her fist, thorns growing out of the fingers as her anger grew. She turned to me now, her hand clenched, ?No, you know what? I know how to manage this you little prick.?
?Hannah? calm down?? I said, stumbling backward as I realized what she had figured out.
Her fist began to turn more brown, the fingers growing more wood-like, ?I will use this thing you cursed me with giving you the most painful beating of your life!?
Faced with someone willing to stab me to death with thorns, I decided I should handle this situation as my ancestors did when faced with similar German aggression.
My heart hammered in my chest as I did my very best to breathe fast enough to fuel my legs with the needed oxygen to continue my running. Without even attempting to look back I just ran as hard and fast as I could.
In the distance, I thought I heard someone call me a coward. Probably Hannah.
That might be true, but I was a coward who was laceration free, sans the initial cat-scratches I had gotten. I prayed Rose did not inherit her mother?s temper.
...
After a few hours, I had managed back to the small apartment I?d be calling home for the next few months.
?Father, you?re home!? Rose?s voice chirped.
The now three-foot-tall flower happily wriggling about in her pot in front of the window caught my attention.
?Rose?? I blinked, ?You?re? huge.?
She tittered, ?thanks to your loving care father! Oh, Great Grandma stopped by to water me too!?
My face fell, and the blood drained from my face, ?Grandmama is here??
A whack on the back of my head from a shoe confirmed that, yes, Grandmama was here.
?You reckless horny little devil!? She shouted, continuing to whack the back of my head with her shoe.
?Grandmama stop!? I begged.
?Your mother is too soft with you! How dare you interrupt your spell!? she looked to Rose, ?no offense dear, your creator is a fool.?
Rose smiled, ?Uh, none taken.? Rose frowned to me, ?Father are you all right??
I groaned, ?You wouldn?t have thorns you could threaten her with, would you Rose??
Rose looked to her long but otherwise dainty leaves then looked over her smooth stem, ?No father, should I??
Grandmama tugged me by the ear, ?enough of that.? She dragged me downward, ?Sit stupid boy!?
I grumbled, ?Fine fine,? I sat on the couch, ?I am sitting, are you happy??
She sat across from me, and nodded, ?No. But who would be, with another hoodlum in the family??
?I?m not Florin!? I protested.
?No, Florin knew how to stay out of trouble, but you? Oh, what a mess!? She grumbled, setting an ornate wooden box on the coffee table.
Greek runes covered the box and had a brass clasp which she flicked open carefully.
The box creaked as it opened, and she pulled out a small velvet bag. On it was a symbol of the Oracle of Delphi, an eye in the center. Over the eye were symbols like peacock feathers, a pair of branches with uniform leaves on the end sat under the eye.
From the bag, she pulled out a deck of tarot cards.
?Grandmama?? I eyed the deck suspiciously.
While I had a gift of magic, Grandmama was not without gifts herself. She ran the fortune-telling tent in the caravan. Her specialty was tarot cards, she had done readings for the entire family and was accurate. She never, however, had done a reading for me.
?It is time that I reveal your destiny to you, young Zithero,? she pushed the cards to me, ?cut them, shuffle them.?
I humored her as I did as she asked, ?I am bad at shuffling cards.?
She nods, ?the cards tell the story of who shuffles them. It doesn?t matter if you are bad at it, just that you be the one to shuffle.?
My eyes rolled before I could stop them. Another shoe struck my head.
?Do not disrespect the cards boy!? She spat, ?You want to end up cursed??
?Sorry!? I apologized, finishing the shuffle, ?there. Done.?
She nods and took the deck from my hands, laying the cards out face down. ?Celtic Cross should be best for you,? she began as she laid out the cards in a small cross. Two cards were in the center, one laying on the other perpendicular to each other. Then a set of four cards all surrounding the center two cards to form a short cross.
She laid four more cards to their right, set up in a line. The ?Staff?, as Grandmama always called it, of the Celtic Cross.
Rose?s pot shifted as she looked over to us. ?Don?t mind me,? she smiled.
?Pick the first card boy,? Grandmama explained, pointing to the first card in the center. ?That will be you.?
I flipped it, frowning as the card showed a demonic creature on it. The text read The Devil.
?The Devil, inverted, hmm?? Grandmama placed her hand on the card, closing her eyes and humming.
?Great, that?s bad, yes??
Grandmama opened one eye, ?We invert the card boy! You have inner demons, they haunt you, but you will overcome them from within! This is a good start, now let us see what lies in your way.?
I groaned, reaching for the next card. This one was a man sitting on a massive throne, the card was dark.
?Mmm? expected, your crossing is The Emperor,? she shook her head, looking to me, ?there is one who will control your fate, He is your destruction.? She examined the card, scanning it carefully, ?He wishes for you to remain at the mercy of your inner demons. This Emperor holds great power over you, should you come across him.?
I frowned, ?I thought he was a defender? a father figure.?
Grandmama shook her head, ?Not here. Not when he is crossing you, not in this way,? she tapped the card.
?So, I should avoid this man??
Grandmama nodded as she pointed to the top-most card of the cross, ?this next.?
The next turn made me flinch. I knew this card, everyone knows this damned card.
?The Tower,? Grandmama hissed, ?The question of your path means great destruction for you. You will face intense turmoil.?
?Great?? I frowned, ?Why isn?t this the card that gets inverted??
Grandmama grumbled, ?Because that is not your fate.? She took a deep breath, looking to me, then the card again. ?This is not as bad an omen as you think, Zithero. Destruction leads to change, the option for growth. This change will destroy much, but from that destruction, you can find hope.?
?Like a forest fire?? I asked.
?Your connection to earth serves you well here, boy.? Grandmama smiled, her old leathery skin turning even more wrinkled as she did so, ?Do not fear. Come, we have more to discover from you.?
I reached for the lowest card in the cross, flipping it, I couldn?t help but laugh as the next card appeared.
A man stood before a table, surrounded by flowers and ivy, in his hand he held a wand, while a Mobius crest sat over his head like a halo.
I read the text at the bottom, ?The Magician??
She nodded, ?Expected as the emperor. Once, Zithero, you had mastery over your spiritual self, a completeness that you lost. It is this completeness that the Emperor seeks of you, but he does not do so for your benefit, but for his. He wishes to use you for his own ends and restore the mastery you once had.?
?Grandmama,? I frowned as I faced her, ?what is it you know? You said you expected these??
?The next,? she pointed to the card just to the right of the cross. ?Flip the crown.?
I turned the next card to see a man sitting upon a throne surrounded by water. In the water a fish leaps out of the water, a ship sails in the background. The throne was unmoving, but the surrounding sea was turbulent and drawn as if in the middle of a squall. He holds a pair of cups in either hand, a necklace of a fish hangs around his neck.
?The King of Cups,? Grandmama grinned, ?The best outcomes for you, your aspirations, come from measured compassion, in this, you must use your best skills.? She smiled at me, ?Your confidence, your assertiveness, you must use these heavily in your journey.?
?Doesn?t sound like I have a pleasant journey ahead,? I remarked.
?You do not, but you must trust yourself to see it through.?
The Emperor card still seemed to glare at me. The eyes fixed me and even though it was just a card; I wanted him to look away. I tried to turn the card over, but Grandmama stopped me.
?Do not turn from your fate,? She warned, ?Rather, embrace your potential. Finish the cross,? she said as she pointed to the lowermost card.
I reached for it and shivered as the card turned over.
The card depicted a woman bound in ropes in the center and blindfolded. Around her, eight massive swords stuck firmly into the surrounding ground. In the background was a castle rising to the sky. The ground was barren of any plant-life, just bare dirt and gravel at her feet.
?The Eight of Swords,? I frowned, ?That looks bad.?
?Soon, there is imprisonment. You are to surrender yourself to an unknown entity, and that entity wishes to imprison you,? she pointed back to The Emperor, ?This man may be the one who will imprison you.?
?Or the courts,? I pointed out.
Grandmama huffed, ?your thoughts stick too firmly on the physical, boy! You must look outward.?
?I?m just saying, unless you have an immediate solution, in a few short months I will probably be in jail,? I shuddered at the thought.
?We shall see about that, boy,? she tapped the bottom card of the one?s set-up in a line, ?Start the staff.?
The card I flipped next was an odd one. It showed a man with robes and an ornate crown standing before a stained glass window. He held a staff and two people stood before him; he held his other hand with two fingers up, and his thumb out, as if counting to three in German. It was upside down.
?The Hierophant?? Grandmama said, ?Interesting....?
?Why is that interesting??
?You have a savior?? she pointed to the Emperor again, ?but within that savior, the Emperor holds some influence. Fate aligns the cards the same, see? The Hierophant is your savior, he will keep you safe. But be wary of this man, he will seek the best interest of all, but if this runs counter to you, he will not save you. Should you become something that opposes him, he may destroy you.?
The Emperor or The Hierophant both seemed to be bad for me. Grandmama never had a bad reading, nor did she ever sugar coat anything. I was wondering if my life was in danger, I?d have to choose between a rock and a hard place.
?Should I flip the next one then?? I shivered, this reading was not going how I thought it would go.
?Yes,? she tapped the left-most card in the cross, ?turn this, and we?ll see your future.?
The next card I flipped was of a figure sitting on a throne, a sword in one hand, scales in another. To my great dismay, it was upside down.
?Justice,? Grandmama shook her head, ?You need to understand you?re in denial of your actions. The law is against you, and you must do what you can to accept your wrongdoings, and circumvent the obstacles that the law has placed before you.?
?What does that mean?? I asked.
Grandmama grinned to me. The look over her face was mischievous, and it worried me more than anything else that had occurred today, ?the next card, boy. This is your hopes and your fears.?
I flipped the next card over and the image greeting me was odd, to say the least.
On a cross, was a man. Rather than being nailed to the cross, they tied one leg to the top, and he hung down it, his head towards the ground. One leg bent behind the knee of his tied leg. His hands were behind his back, and he seemed to have a halo behind his head. The look on his face was serene.
?The Hanged Man,? Grandmama announced, ?You fear to be a sacrifice, but you also hope to be the one to save others. You?re measured, and you must remain so on the path onward. Your path is spiritual, and you must view the world differently, as he does, seeing the world inverted.?
?So I need to? what?? I frowned.
?Look to your connection to the earth, use it to help guide you,? she sighed, ?the final card is your future. Turn it.?
I flipped the next card, and I wasn?t entirely sure what it was I saw.
An angel was in the air with a mighty trumpet, clouds surrounding it as it looked down on many people below. All appeared naked, some were standing in what looked like opened caskets.
?Judgement,? Grandmama frowned, ?...? she heaved a sigh. ?This day had to come, I suppose. Your future hinges on knowing who you are, and what you are. This reading, all of it, came to this simple truth: that you must know what you are. What you really are, and why you have this connection. Your future hinges on finding your connection to yourself, and so I will ensure you know this, boy.?
?What are you talking about?? I asked.
?Do you know why your mother named you ?Zithero??? she asked.
?She said she looked at me and that name came to her,? I reminded.
?Not entirely wrong,? she said standing up, walking towards the door where she had dropped two bags. She pulled out a small bag, and placed it in my hand, ?I cannot express how powerful, how important, what I?m giving to you is,? she explained.
I took the bag and reached inside, pulling out a small ring with a strange signet on the front.
It appeared to have a Star of David on the front, but there was much more to it. There were runes etched along with the side and within the star, old runes. Older than I had ever seen, and I had seen plenty.
Out of all the runes, however, on the inside was writing in Hebrew:
?? ?? ????
?This is powerful?? I asked.
?Yes,? she explained, ?one can use it for great good or terrible evil. It all depends on the user,? she placed her hand on mine, ?I am trusting you with this, for I am not long for this world.?
?Grandmama,? I tried to protest.
?Our family came into this ring long ago, and we have passed it down to those of us who are worthy,? She began to explain.
I moved to put it on my finger.
Grandmama stopped me, ?No! You must not wear the ring unless you intend to use it! If you wear it frivolously, it will draw darkness to you, as it did its previous bearer.?
?Who had this ring last?? I asked, putting it back in the bag.
Grandmama sighed, ?A king of Jerusalem, a great king, was the last to wear it. But his pride got the better of him, and though he had chained many dark creatures with it, one dared to convince him it was the king?s power, not the ring itself, that gave power to him.? She shook her head, ?That demon took the ring and took the throne from the king, they had lost the ring for centuries before they gave it to our family.?
She closed my hands around the bag after she finished explaining.
?That ring contains magical power the likes of which none have ever seen on this earth before, nor will again,? Grandmama warned, ?do not use it unless you plan to control great magic.?
I frowned, ?I?m not sure I should use magic.?
?You must, for that is what you are Zithero. You are magic,? she coughed, sitting, ?Your spirit is that of an earth spirit, a mighty one! One called to live within the son of Alexander of Macedonia.?
I sighed, ?Grandmama-?
?No, you must hear the truth,? she scolded, ?Your mother named you Zithero because you are the direct son of Alexander the Great, reborn!?
?I don?t understand,? my brow furrowed, ?What does that mean??
She heaved a sigh, ?Alexander traveled the ancient world and as he did he amassed great power, not just land, and armies, but mysticism. During his conquest a Titan greeted him. That Titan and Alexander made a pact. The Titan wanted him to make war on the Gods of the land, and gifted to him the power to make four of his soldier?s titans of Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth.?
?Okay,? I began, ?I don?t believe-?
?Believe it or not, Zithero, that is you!? she poked my chest, ?He chose two soldiers, one from Egypt to hold the power of Wind and sky, one from Sparta to hold the power of fire, but for water and earth, he chose his own children. His youngest daughter Alexis, and you, Zithero.?
I sighed, ?So, what, I?m supposed to find the others??
Grandmama shook her head, ?No, you must stay far away from them! For as Alexander conquered more and more lands, he found the use of the titan?s powers to make battles too easy,? she glared to The Emperor card, ?and one who he trusted betrayed him. He took the titans from Alexander, claiming he would free them of their power and release their spirits? but he poisoned Alexander, and made off with you all, enslaved.? She coughed again.
I fetched her water, as I heard her continue from the other room.
?That man is The Emperor he is the one who seeks to bind you, to enslave you,? Grandmama cleared her throat as I brought her the drink. ?That is the same man who took you from your father and seeks to take you now.?
As I gave her the water, she handed me another small bag.
?Take this and escape.?
I glanced at the bag, opening it. Inside were multiple credit cards, an ID card, and even a passport. But it wasn?t my face on them, at least, not obviously, ?Mother these are-?
?No one looks at faces, you look close enough to your cousin Florin, and he has no qualms about helping you,? Grandmama smiled.
?Wait, you want me to run??
Grandmama fixed me with a stern gaze, ?If you let yourself get locked up, he will find you all the more easily. If you?re traveling under your cousin?s name, he will not find you.?
I chuckled, shaking my head, ?Grandmama, you can?t be serious about all of this.?
She glared at me, ?you dream of a red-headed woman, yes??
?How could-? she interrupted me.
?She was your betrothed in another life, but he ripped you from her, she longs for you still?? she heaved a sigh, ?though her heart no longer beats.?


Source.