The Pellegrine - Magi at Work 1 - Kean’s Extra Training
The Pellegrine
BY Soul Lark
Book VI Magi at Work
Chapter 1 Kean’s Extra Training
© The author reserves all rights to this work.
Disclaimer:
This story is of an adult nature. It is not intended for minors nor for those whose law in their land forbids them to read this material. This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people is purely coincidental and unintentional.
NB: Words found between asterisks (*) refer to words exchanged in psychic or telepathic communication.
Date: 27 December 2673, Saturday
The magi training bases were scattered all over the globe. Each base was small, able to take about twenty students at a time. Some were found on small islands in the South Pacific. Some were found buried in the remote slopes of the Andes. There were even training schools found in the middle of the cities under the guise of university faculties! Such was the sophistication of the magi setup.
Jorg had a special favour to ask of Master Martin Addems. About a hundred years before, the then Squad Leader Martin Addems was the co-ordinator of the rescue operation concerning a ship that was trapped between relays. Jorg’s sister was coincidentally travelling on that ship and she was responsible for giving the extra time for the rescuer corps to reach the ship. Sheila was an aging magi, having had three children. The magi physicians had speculated that she had about one and a half human lifespans left to her life. She had taken the trip to Mars to visit a human friend for the last time as she was supposed to take over her newest identity. The accident occurred on the journey from Mars to Earth. She had sacrificed her life to maintain the magnetic forces long enough for the ship to be pulled to safety from the collapsing relay. It was at Sheila’s memorial service that Master Martin had met the former President of the Magi Council. Master Martin found Jorg a very humble person. It was also at the funeral that he discovered how Jorg was treated as an outcast by his own family because of his sexual orientation. Master Martin was struck by Jorg’s love for his sister despite what his other siblings had to say about him. That was what endeared Master Martin to Jorg.
“Jorg!” exclaimed Master Martin. “What brings you here to a magi training camp? I don’t suppose you are going to apply for the post of trainer?”
Jorg smiled. “I’ve come to ask a favour of you.”
“If I can be of service, of course,” replied the trainer.
“Thank you,” said Jorg. “Well, I know that you have your sabbatical coming up. I was wondering if you were able to take in a private student for a short time.”
“This is highly irregular, Jorg,” said Master Martin with a frown. “As a trainer with the rescuer corps, I cannot take in students without approval from the Council.”
“I understand. I have asked Councillor Tsui to endorse my request,” said Jorg.
“Councillor Tsui? An endorsement from one of the two Vice Presidents. It must be someone important,” Master Martin remarked.
“Actually, this is an endorsement of a personal request. It isn’t a very high priority situation,” admitted Jorg.
“Oh?” asked Master Martin, surprised at Jorg’s admission.
“I’ve been asked by Master Patrick to help develop his son’s powers,” Jorg began to explain.
Master Martin interjected, “Master Patrick Feehan?”
Jorg nodded. “The very same. He had been training his own son since he went into retirement.”
“Let me see,” said Master Martin, searching his memory, “if I remember correctly, Master Patrick had five children. Only the third and fourth entered the training school. Both are quite active in the corps. Are you referring to one of the older two or the youngest.”
“The youngest,” answered Jorg.
Master Martin sat up, turned to his computer console and obtained Kean’s records. “He had started his training some years back but for some reason, he pulled out of the corps. Says here that he has a remarkable psychical stamina.” Turning back to Jorg, he continued, “Are you asking that I train him privately during my sabbatical?”
“I’m making that request, yes,” replied Jorg hopefully.
Master Martin frowned. “Is there a reason why he can’t be trained in the rescuers’ training facilities?”
“You have seen the potential he has, but he doesn’t want to be a rescuer. The sad fact is that Master Patrick is dying. He doesn’t want to force his son to enter training school, neither does he want the great potential he sees in his son to go to waste. Master Patrick has asked me to help his son. I have been training him for a while and I agree that he has a great potential. However, I do not have the expertise to train special localization techniques. I went to see Councillor Tsui to ask her for help to get a good trainer. She mentioned that you were about to go for your sabbatical and suggested that I approach you. The training is above board. His records at Council Headquarters will reflect that he took personal coaching from you with the permission of the Council. However, it is private, meaning that the rescuer corps cannot presume that he would assume duties in the corps after the training.”
“You haven’t actually answered my question, Jorg. Why can’t he be trained in the training school. You know that trainees aren’t obliged to join the corps when they graduate.”
Jorg sighed. “Master Martin, Kean Feehan’s a remarkable magus. He’s got twice the strength of any magus of his level. On top of that, he’s very receptive and learns very quickly. Whilst I cannot betray a confidence by explaining why he doesn’t want to go to a training school, I’m able to foresee that he’ll be frustrated if he enters into the normal training programme, even without that reason hanging over his head. He won’t be advancing as far and as fast as he’s able to. Both Master Patrick and I agree that he would only need a month or two of learning the special localization techniqes.”
“But it takes at least six months to get the basic techniques correct,” protested Master Martin. “I would be putting my reputation on the line here if I only trained him for just a few months.”
“As I said before,” explained Jorg, “he is a fast learner. He’s only thirty-two and he’s already on his way to reaching level 5.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” said Master Martin with his eyes wide open. “No one makes it to level five that young.”
“You have to see him to believe it. I couldn’t believe my ears when Master Patrick told me himself. I’ve been training him and it’s true. I actually checked the records and found that there had been a few cases of magi advancing that quickly in our history. However, that was before the rescuers became as organized as today. The individuals seemed to end up having the saviour syndrome and expired their energies too quickly. If Kean doesn’t learn how to control and use his powers, he could be dead in two or three human lifespans.”
“Maybe that’s why it’d be better for him to enroll in a training centre. Discipline is always good training for control.”
Jorg shook his head, “Master, he won’t come. Furthermore, he’s one of the most disciplined magi that I have encountered. After you train with him, you’ll come to wish that at your trainees are half as disciplined as he is. I’m making a request, Master Martin. You aren’t obliged to say yes.”
Master Martin kept silent, thinking.
“… and don’t even consider adding my late sister into the equation. I’m not here to collect a debt,” added Jorg as if he knew that Master Martin was considering that he had owed Jorg’s family a lot due to Sheila’s sacrifice.
“I only ask that you see him. He stays with his father, Master Patrick. Perhaps you could visit Master Patrick as an excuse to see Kean for himself. If you find that I’m spouting nonsense, you don’t have to train him.”
Master Martin looked up and nodded his head. He had a strange feeling that he wasn’t going to be alone during the first few months of his sabbatical.
§ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ §
Date: 11 January 2674, Sunday
“Today, we’ll test your powers in a crowd. We’ll go to church,” declared Master Martin.
Kean groaned. “Church?”
“Why?” asked Master Martin.
“I remember my first experiences. They weren’t the best experiences to have. Furthermore, most churches frown upon my sexuality.”
“Yes, I understand that but we aren’t going there to get accepted; we’re going there for training.”
“So which church?”
“I was thinking of somewhere in Italy. I’ll bring you there,” said Master Martin.
“Yes Master,” said Kean reluctantly.
Master Martin had not only been very impressed by Kean’s potential, he agreed with Jorg’s assessment of how to train Kean. Within a week, Kean had mastered a technique that took most trainees at least two weeks to understand and at least another month to use properly. Master Martin had taught Kean another two techniques for locating targets. It was time for him to enter the real world to practise those techniques.
Master Martin brought Kean to the city of Padua. They went by normal transport. The city was pretty crowded and Master Martin had to park the vehicle quite a distance away from the church. Like many people already there, they were on foot.
“Let’s take our time,” said Master Martin. “We’ve got half an hour before Mass starts and the walk is just about fifteen minutes away. There’s plenty of time.”
After about three minutes, Kean saw the belfry of the Basilica of Saint Anthony at a distance. There were shops on both sides of the lane in which they were walking. Getting closer to the Basilica, the two magi saw a long queue. They had walked about ten minutes thus far.
“Surely, that’s not the queue for the Mass?” asked Kean.
“No,” said Master Martin. “Those are tourists waiting to enter the Basilica to see the relics of the patron saint of this city.”
They walked towards the main entrance of the Church and proceeded through the part marked Worshippers. An usher handed them a electronic tablet and a translation earpiece. The tablet had the hymns and prayers stored in there. Both of them genuflected and took their seats. There were just a handful of worshippers. Kean was easily the youngest looking in the basilica.
Kean was in awe at the beauty of this ancient building. At the same time, he was upset at the irreverence in this edifice because of the noise the tourists were making.
The music started and the electronic tablet lighted up. It instructed the worshippers to insert their earpieces and to join in a hymn. It was in Italian but both Kean and Master Martin were able to follow.
*Open your mind to the people in the basilica and see if you can filter out projected thoughts. Remember to compensate your …*
Master Martin had stopped communicating suddenly. Kean turned to look at his teacher. Master Martin had turned pale.
*What’s the matter, Master?* Kean asked.
*We need to go.*
The two left the Basilica in a hurry and went back to the vehicle. When they got into the vehicle, Master Martin keyed in his destination. The vehicle started moving and they were off.
The two magi arrived within a big compound. When Kean emerged from the vehicle he realised that they were probably in a farm of some sort. On his left, Kean could see large fields of yellow canola flowers. There were also grass fields with cattle grazing. Looking to his right, Kean sighted another house on slightly higher ground, about a few kilometres away. He also saw a fence, which he deduced to be the boundary of another farm. Master Martin had begun to walk towards the house behind Kean. The house stood out starkly against the grass fields that could be seen behind it. Kean had to take off his suede jacket as he turned to follow his trainer. The temperature of the place was considerably higher than that of Padua. He thought of asking his teacher where they were but he knew that Master Martin had quite a lot in his mind.
“We’re in Western Australia,” said Master Martin, who had also removed the thin sweater he had over his shirt. It was as if Master Martin had read Kean’s mind.
The door opened and an elderly couple came out to meet them. “Martin!” greeted the woman as she rushed forward, “it’s good to see you!” She gave Martin a hug and turned to Kean, “You must be Kean. Welcome! I hope that Martin hasn’t been giving you a hard time.”
“No, Ma’am,” said Kean. “It is good to meet you, too.” The woman surprised Kean by giving him a hug as well.
“Call me Pearl, dear,” she said.
Master Martin had also given the man a hug and asked him, “How’re you doing?”
“I’m well, except for this nasty business,” replied the man. When the woman released Kean, the man reached for Kean’s hand and shook it. “How do you do? I’m Doug” he greeted.
“I’m Kean, nice to meet you,” answered Kean.
Pearl closed the door and showed both teacher and student into the living room. She turned to Master Martin and asked, “Does he know?”
“No,” answered Master Martin.
“One of the rescue corps, then?” Doug said.
“No,” replied Master Martin. “He’s a student of Jorg’s that needed my help.”
On hearing Jorg’s name, the elderly couple smiled and nodded their heads.
“Do you know Jorg?” asked Kean.
“Not personally. However, Jorg is a respected member of the community, though not many people would approve of his sexuality,” replied Pearl.
“Do you approve of his sexuality?” asked Kean, realising a little too late that he seemed a little too anxious.
“What is there to approve or not approve?” replied Pearl with a smile. “We have no problems with gay people, magi or normal. We don’t pretend to understand gay relationships. We just accept people as they are, so long as they’re not imposing their choices on others and are not a nuisance to the people around them.”
Kean could see a little curiosity in Pearl’s eyes. Doug had a slight smile on as well. Then Kean realised who he was talking to. They were Master Martin’s parents. It took a while but he recognised the same way that they smiled.
“I’m sorry, Kean. I didn’t even do the introductions. These are Doug and Pearl, my parents.”
“As I said before,” said Kean, “it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Let’s sit down and we’ll fill you in on the situation at hand,” said Doug.
“I’ll get us some drinks. I think some lemonade is best, unless Kean wants something stronger,” said Pearl with her eyes questioning Kean.
“No; lemonade’s fine,” replied Kean. Pearl just smiled and left the room. Apparently, she had decided not to pursue her curiosity.
The men sat down and Doug began, “Martin isn’t our only child. We’ve had five children: three sons and two daughters.” Doug stopped. Kean could see that he was controlling his breathing.
Master Martin took over from his father as Doug was getting a little emotional. “My elder brother is Tim. Then came myself, my two sisters, Christine and Olivia, and my youngest brother, Percy. All of us were in the rescue corps. When Christine got married, she left the corps. Tim decided to leave the corps after twenty years. Now, only Olivia and Percy are active in the corps and I’ve become a trainer.”
At this juncture, Pearl came in with the lemonade in a jug and four empty glasses. She placed every thing on the coffee table and filled each glass with the drink.
When she had sat down, Master Martin continued, “Tim is ten years older than I am and he is gay. That’s why my parents answered the way they did. When he first came out to them, they were shocked. They didn’t chase him away but they took about a year to accept my brother. He never gave anyone a clue that he was gay. I was in training school when he came out to my parents but they didn’t tell me. They felt that it was Tim’s responsibility to tell the rest of the family. Tim came out to my sisters first. Then Tim told me just before he left the corps. Percy was born a few years after that, so he knows all about Tim.”
“So Tim left the rescue corps because he was gay?” asked Kean, remembering the reason he had left the corps. Kean was enamoured with a straight corps member and could not bear to be near someone he could never have.
“Actually, that wasn’t the reason. During Tim’s struggle with his sexuality, he came into contact with a nun from the Roman Catholic Church. She started to talk to him and soon, he became very spiritual and religious. He decided that he would become a priest.”
“But isn’t the Catholic Church adverse to ordaining gay people?” asked Kean.
“They never knew about Tim’s sexuality. Tim had two specialties in the corps. One was reconaissance and the other was psychology. He kept his sexuality a secret and was able to bypass most of their psychological screenings. That was eighty years ago. He’s in his third identity as a priest.”
“Tim is not a promiscuous man. I believed him when he told me at the time of entering the seminary that he was a virgin. I’ve no doubt that he’s still one,” said Pearl, who had difficulty controlling her tears.
“We’ve just received word that Tim’s being charged with paedophilia. He claims that he’s innocent but he refused to open his mind to us,” said Doug.
“A magus working in the prosecutor’s office in Bradford, England contacted us regarding the case,” said Pearl. “A fourteen year old boy has lodged a complaint of sexual misconduct with the bishop. The bishop had advised the boy to go to the police. The complaint was lodged yesterday, at night, Bradford time, and Tim was arrested almost immediately. I’m sure it’s all in the news by now. Christine and Olivia are with him right now. Percy’s on assignment and can’t abandon his post for the moment.”
Doug and Pearl were visibly affected. “We’d like to be with him right now but we’re now almost powerless. We don’t even have the combined powers to transport there, much less keep invisible.”
“I know what we can do,” said Master Martin. “Leave it to us.”
Within minutes, Master Martin had transported Kean and himself to a holding cell where Tim was. It was a bleak cell. Neither the colours nor the decor in the cell provided that feeling. It was the mood of the people in there that emanated the bleakness. There were two women and one man in the cell. Tim was still in his cassock. When they appeared in the cell, one of the women came towards them.
“Hi Mart,” said the woman.
“Hi Olivia,” greeted Master Martin. He left his sister with Kean and moved towards his brother
*Hi! I’m Kean.* Kean communicated psychically.
*Kean Feehan … mmm … Master Patrick’s son, I believe,* remarked Olivia.
*Yes but a student of Master Martin,* replied Kean.
*Never thought of Martin here as a Master, much less as the master of Master Patrick’s son.*
*Your brother has taught me much, Ms. Olivia.*
*Olivia will do!* grinned Olivia. *Martin’s your teacher. Let’s keep all the titles to him, okay?* Then she ushered Kean towards the others.
“Hi Tim,” said Master Martin as he placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder.
“Hi,” came the soft reply.
“Chris,” greeted Master Martin.
“Mart, glad you could come,” said Christine in a low voice. Looking at Kean approaching she asked, “Student?”
“Yes.”
“Hello. I’m Kean,” Kean offered softly.
“Pleased to meet you. I wish it was in better circumstances.”
“Listen, Tim,” said Master Martin, “Mum and Dad are really concerned about you. Could you pop in to see them? When’s your court hearing?”
“It isn’t set yet. The prosecutor will interview me this morning,” he said.
“Good. Why don’t Olivia and I stay here just in case? Then you pop over to Mum and Dad’s to see them. I’ll send for you when the time comes.”
Tim looked at Kean and said, “I wish I could say it’s a pleasure but …”
“I understand,” said Kean.
Tim nodded his head and faded from their view.
“Hey! Why didn’t he wait for me?” Christine asked in surprised. She too faded out.
“As you can see, we have a very close-knit family,” Olivia said in a very soft voice. Kean could also see her grinning.
Master Martin was not amused. “Olivia, do you think you could handle being alone here?”
“I’m not a rescuer for fun, you know,” stated Olivia. Her eyes narrowed towards her brother. Kean didn’t know if they were communicating psychically.
After a few moments, Master Martin said, “All right then, I want to get to the bottom of the truth. I want to see the complaint. I suppose the complaint was made with the local police?”
“Yes, the headquarters for the city,” replied Olivia. “Do you know where it is?”
“Yes, I’ve visited Tim here quite a number of times,” replied Master Martin. “Come, Kean, we’ve got work to do and we need to be invisibile.”
With Master Martin leading, they transported themselves to room where the main computer core of the police station was situated.
*I won’t be a moment, Kean, keep a watch out. Maintain a visual mirage if there’s a need.*
*Yes,* replied Kean.
True to his words, Master Martin retrieved the information he needed quickly. Kean didn’t have to do anything as he detected no one.
*Come, Kean, I’ve got what I need.*
*Where are we going?*
*The accuser’s.*
Kean was not quite sure that it was the best thing to do but he kept quiet. He knew that if he felt that Master Martin got on too far, he would have to stop his teacher.
They appeared in an empty bedroom. They were still invisible and could sense a fourteen year old boy in the living room. His parents were in the room with him. His father was wondering how the church could allow a man like Father Tarsius to be a priest. His mother was in two minds. Her intuition told her that Father Tarsius could not have done something so wrong and yet she believed her son’s words. All their thoughts were picked up by the two magi. From the child, they did not pick up anything.
*The boy seems awfully calm about the situation,* remarked Kean. *He doesn’t seem to have any fears that I can sense.*
*It could also be tranquilisers,* replied Master Martin calmly. *The detectives should be arriving any time now.*
The two invisible magi moved to the living room. They only had to wait for about twenty minutes. Then the door bell rang. There were two men and a woman who called.
“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Omistan,” greeted one of the men. “I’m Detective Inspector William Farnsworth. Here is Detective Barbara Smith, my associate, and this is Dr. Lawrence Masters. He’s a psychologist. The report you made yesterday was very helpful. We were wondering if we could get more details.”
“Good morning, Inspector,” began Mr. Omistan, “when we were told that another interview was necessary, I wasn’t told that you’d been bringing along a psychologist.”
“Mr. Omistan, I’m here as a consultant. I’d have to see if this incident has affected your child in anyway and suggest possible actions that your family can take. I’m sent by the police and not by the Church.”
“Mr. Omistan,” said the inspector, “if you are uncomfortable with the presence of Dr. Masters, you have the right to ask him to leave. However, you’d have to declare that in a statement. The police will then hold no responsibility if there are any adverse affects during questioning. There’s this provision of a psychologist because your child is a minor.”
Mrs. Omistan nudged her husband and made a face at him. She turned to the visitors and said with a slight smile, “Sorry for being difficult, inspector. This experience has made us all very cynical. Please come in.”
Mr. Omistan just gave a grunt and opened the door for the three to enter the house. Mrs. Omistan showed the three people into the living room where the boy was reading a book.
“Lenny, please switch off the book you’re reading. The police are here,” said Mrs. Omistan.
The magi sensed an immediate hostile emotional reaction. However, the boy did not show anything on his face. He merely nodded and switched off the book. He stood up and walked towards a side cupboard. He placed the book there and walked back towards the adults.
“Mr. Omistan, we could conduct the interview here, if you don’t have any objections.”
“No,” muttered the stocky man. “We can just sit right here.”
“If your son is comfortable here, it’ll be okay,” confirmed Dr. Masters.
All the adults turned to the teenager who just shrugged and then nodded his head. However, the magi caught his thoughts. He was amused by the adults’ behaviour.
Kean asked, *He’s deceitful, isn’t he?*
*Yes. It’s interesting that he was just reading about the trauma of sexually abused children in that book,* replied Master Martin.
*It’ll also be interesting if one of the detectives found out what he was reading.*
*He removed the chip.*
*What?* asked Kean in surprise. *I didn’t see him …*
*He removed it on the way to the cupboard. I sensed a change in the electronic content of the book when he removed the chip. When his back was turned towards the adults, he slipped in another chip: one about knights and dragons, I believe.*
*What a sly fellow.*
*Indeed,** replied Master Martin.
In the meantime, both Dr. Masters and Mrs. Omistan were moving the furniture around so that all could sit in a circle. The lady detective sat to the right of Lenny. On his left was his father. Next to Mr. Omistan was Mrs. Omistan, followed by Dr. Masters and then Inspector Farnsworth.
“Are you comfortable, dear?” asked Mrs. Omistan.
Lenny nodded his head. His face was a little pale and he looked afraid. The magi detected no fear but amusement.
“Alright, Lenny, in your own words, could you tell us what happened that day with Father Tarsius?” requested the inspector.
Lenny nodded and then slowly took a deep breath. “It was last Friday night. We had a choir practice in church just before dinner. As usual, a few of us went to Father’s office for a drink. He usually had some packs of iced tea in his little cool-box. We shared a few jokes with him and then we prepared to leave. Then he asked me to stay behind. Once the others left, he started asking me about the girls in school. Then he asked me if I’d thought about sex. Of course, I answered no. I said that it was a sin. Then he told me that it was normal for a boy of my age to think about sex. I guess I blushed because I do think about sex quite a bit. Then he asked me if I was … was … you know … hard.” Lenny lowered his head as if he was embarrassed.
*A real good show,* Master Martin commented.
With his head lowered, Lenny continued. “Then he reached and touched me. He touched … touched … touched my dick. I looked up and pushed him away. Then I got up and ran home. I was so scared.” Lenny’s eyes seemed to be glistening with tears.
Mrs. Omistan wanted to reach towards her son but Mr. Omistan held her back.
When Lenny was recounting the events, what really happened was going through in his mind. Fortunately for the magi, Lenny’s thoughts were not of the hidden variety and they caught everything.
The inspector looked at Dr. Masters and nodded.
“Lenny,” called the psychologist. “Can I call you Lenny?”
“Yes,” said Lenny softly.
“I’d like to request that you see a doctor. He or she would listen to you and then talk to you. You’ve had a bad experience and the doctor is there to help. Do you think you can do that?”
“Will I be alone?”
“If you want someone to be there, one of your parents can accompany you for the first appointment.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t think there is anything else,” said Dr. Masters. “I’ll leave the police officers to return the living room to its original arrangement. Mr. and Mrs. Omistan, I need a word with you.”
The psychologist took the couple aside and said, “So far, I think that he’s not very badly traumatised. At this stage, it’ll be good to send him to Dr. Valerie Tilson. She’s a child and teen psychologist. I’d advise that one of you bring him there just to assure him but it’s better if he eventually has the sessions alone.”
“Thank you, doctor,” said Mrs. Omistan.
“Let me call her to make an appointment for you,” offered the psychologist.
At that juncture, Master Martin indicated to Kean that they’d enough information. It was time that they leave.
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