God Mage - D.W. Jackson Page 0,9

seconds after he laid down, he felt the now common feeling of Faye wrapping her arm around him as she pressed her body close to him. “It’s not fair,” Faye whispered after a few moments.

It was the first time Faye had said anything after she had lain down, and Bren was not sure how to handle the situation. He wished that this would have happened when he was more himself, but there was only so far wishing could get him. “What do you mean?” Bren asked, hoping that it was the right response.

“Brenda, Lillian, Phena, and Shariel, you have all these other women around you. They all have their own claims to you, and I am just some farm girl that you met on your way to the tower,” Faye said, her voice sounding meek and slightly concerned.

“Phena is my sister,” Bren replied, trying to make his voice sound slightly upbeat. “Shariel is like an aunt, and Brenda scares the living hell out of me.”

“I can see why,” Faye replied shyly. “What about Lillian. She isn’t family, and she is downright beautiful. I can’t even compare to her, and she…loves you.”

Bren could tell that Faye was worried about her position with him. Although he knew it, he wasn’t sure how to handle it. He knew that he cared about her, but it was hard to really focus on that now. “She is beautiful, but I don’t think she really loves me,” Bren responded, picking his words carefully. “She fell in love with my father, and when he disappeared, she just let her attachment switch to me. It wouldn’t matter anyway; she reminds me too much of my mother.”

“If you say so,” Faye said pulling Bren in even tighter than she had before. It was slightly uncomfortable, but Bren didn’t pull away from her.

As Bren drifted off to sleep, he felt a pull coming from his mother as she tried to pull him into one of her dreams. Bren thought about declining her invitation but decided it would be best to talk with her. In the end, his mother was going to find him, and it was better to get it over with. At least in his dream his mother couldn’t hit him too hard.

As the darkness cleared, Bren found himself in his own room where his mother sat on the edge of his bed. Bren waited for her to say something, but as the silence continued, Bren decided to make the first move. “Mother,” Bren said softly.

“I didn’t think you would come,” Maria said after a tense moment of silence. “I have tried to talk to you numerous times, but each time I only ended up spending the night alone in this room.”

“Things have been difficult,” Bren said, moving over behind his mother.

“What happened to you?” Maria said as she turned around and got her first look at him. She reached out her hand and lightly touched his cheek, which was now bright silver. “You look like someone painted your skin.”

“Like I said, things have been difficult,” Bren replied. “If everything works out, father will be home soon.”

“Thad,” Maria said surprised. “How?”

“I can’t tell you right now, but I am working on it,” Bren said as his mother pulled him into a tight hug.

“I miss him,” Maria said, her voice filled with her emotions. “I would give almost anything to see him again.” His mother was holding him so tight that even in the dream he could feel her strength. “But I would not trade your father for you. You are my son, and though I do not always show it, I still love you dearly. If it is dangerous then please promise me that you will leave it alone….Please.”

“I don’t know if it will be dangerous,” Bren replied telling his mother a half-truth. “But this is something that I have to do. I am not doing it for father, or for you, but myself. Ever since I was a child, I have seen the odd stares and heard the half-concealed remarks. People have always blamed me for father’s disappearance, and at some point I have started to blame myself.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Maria said pulling back and looking her son directly in the face.

“At some level I know that, but I still want to find father. It is just something I have to do.”

His mother didn’t say anything else. She just gave him another tight hug and wept silently. Bren wrapped his arms lightly around his mother and held