Daniel's Early Days Ch. 2

Chapter Two

Without preamble, his father brought up his hands and a shimmering blue bubble rose up and surrounded him.
“Wow,” Daniel breathed. He had never seen this trick before. “What is it?”
“A protection sphere.”
Tentatively, Daniel reached forward to touch it; not sure what he would find when he did. The sparkling light coalesced round his fingers. The sphere was rock hard, but there was a strange substance on top of that solid surface. Like a dry, iridescent liquid that swirled around and slightly immersed his fingertips, and sent a tingly feeling up his arm.
“Cool,” he whispered as he pressed his palm fully against the electric bubble.
“Now, you try,” his father instructed. Abruptly, his glittering sphere dropped to the earth and disappeared. “First, clear your mind. Closing your eyes might help. Take slow, deep breaths. Count them out in your head, fifty should do. Then, imagine the sphere forming around you. If you want to, use your hands to form the circle, like finger painting,” he explained.
Daniel closed his eyes, began the deep breathing, and tried to clear his mind. At first, he found that to be extremely difficult because he was really excited about finally using his magic, and more than a little nervous that it wouldn’t work. When he got to fifty, he stopped counting, but continued breathing deeply. Agitated by the unbidden thoughts whirling around his head, he imagined that those pesky, swarming thoughts were dropping like flies. Without a word, his father stood by waiting patiently.
Finally, he felt calm, at peace, he was ready. Using one hand palm up, he brushed his hand above him in a large rainbow arc, all the while visualizing the bubble he had seen his father create. He knew it was working even before he opened his eyes. Instead of the tingly sensation coming from without and then travelling into him, he could feel it explode inside his chest, race down his arms, and shoot out of his fingers like electricity.
“Well done,” his father cried. Daniel’s eyes popped open. It was strange to view the world from inside his crackling blue dome. “And, on your first try. Very impressive,” his father added. He stepped forward and rapped his knuckles on it. “Solid,” he beamed.
“Good job, honey,” his mother called out from the porch. She had come out to watch, and as usual was so quiet Daniel hadn’t even heard her. Disconcerted, Daniel whirled around and his concentration lapsed. The sphere disappeared, and a wave of exhaustion washed over him. “Oh, sorry honey,” his mother said regretfully.
“That’s alright, son,” his father said coming up behind him and putting his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “That was very good for your first time. Plus, I forgot to mention that it will only stay up as long as you keep your concentration, which is not always easy. Your mother provided your next very important lesson. Let nothing interrupt your concentration when using your magic. Let’s work on that now. Call up your sphere, and let’s see if I can catch you off guard.”
Excited by the challenge, Daniel took a few deep breaths to prepare himself before he called up his protection. When he opened his eyes, his father was already throwing an apple at him. With a small flash of light, it bounced off the sphere with a large bruised dent in one side.
“Good,” his father sanctioned. “Now for a real challenge.” In unison, all the apples under the apple tree came flying over and circling Daniel menacingly. One by one, they hurled themselves at Daniel from all angles causing his bubble to light up like the fourth of July. But, his concentration didn’t waver, not until a great boom from the attic resonated across the yard, causing Daniel to jump and his sphere to drop to the ground.
He quickly realized his mistake, and crouched to the ground. Without effort a smaller version of his previous sphere surrounded him, instinctually protecting him from the flying apples. There were no flashes of light, and when Daniel looked up he saw several apples frozen in the air. Daniel sagged in relief and stood up, allowing the sphere to drop as he did.
His father was holding his hand out toward Daniel, but his body was turned toward the house. Out of the corner of his eye, Daniel saw his mother rush inside the house, letting the screen door slam behind her.
“Oh, that woman is reckless,” his father moaned, rubbing his hand across his face. He dropped his arm, and the apples dropped with it. “I better go check on your grandmother,” he said apologetically. “Stay here,” his father directed. “Keep practicing,” he called over his shoulder as he jogged up to the house.
Daniel wondered what in the world his grandmother had been trying to do this time. He wasn’t really concerned; she frequently created small explosions that usually sounded worse than they really were.
This time, Daniel felt even more drained from his efforts, but his blood was pumping adrenaline. Using his magic was exhilarating! He wanted to do more, but he wanted to try something else.
Taking deep breaths, he cleared his mind, and held out his hand. In his mind, he called up the apple nearest him, and to his delight it floated up effortlessly. Elated, Daniel just held it there in front of his face, amazed how easy his magic was coming to him now. It flowed from him, through him, and out into the apple like an electrical pulse.
With a flick of the wrist the apple soared across the yard and disappeared into the sea of green that was the forest. Daniel had tried throwing objects through the wards before, and they were always rejected. Somehow, this apple flew through like nothing was there. Smiling mischievously, Daniel got a terrible idea. Now, he knew how to sneak into the shadows of the forbidden forest, and he would.
Without thinking it through, he ran across the yard. At the edge of the tree line he stopped. He looked back at the house, everything was quiet. How long did he have before his father returned? Not long, he decided. But, maybe long enough for him to test his theory.
Trying to subdue his excitement, Daniel cleared his mind and called up his magic. It responded instantly, thrumming through his body like wild fire; probably fueled by his excitement. Instead of releasing it, he kept it in check.
Tentatively, he reached out a hand, and his fingers bumped up against the barrier. With little resistance, the barricade gave slightly, but only a couple inches. His hand wasn’t through yet. Daniel gritted his teeth and pushed harder, his hand suddenly burst through. With only a brief glance over his shoulder, he plunged into the shadows.
The trees were dense in this part of the forest, and it took a minute for his eyes to adjust. Most of the trees in and surrounding their yard were huge sprawling affairs, but these were skinnier, taller, and placed closer together. Peering through the gloom that seemed to permeate the air, Daniel thought he saw something that didn’t quite fit. A small stub of a tree, stout and strangely shaped; stunted somehow, with no limbs to speak of. He moved closer to get a better look at this oddity, when it suddenly moved.
“So, you finally broke free,” the thing rasped, making a weird grinding sound that almost sounded like laughter.