Liam perked up, recalling his dream, if you could even call it that. “But I did! Only, it was extremely intense. It didn’t feel like a dream at all, I felt like I was living someone else’s life. And! They mentioned the Golden Eyes! The family that you were talking about,” Liam explained. “When I woke up from my  dream, I ran back to the house I took you to but it was back to how it’s always been, but in my dream it was like last night,” Liam rambled, nearly running out of breath.

“Hmmmm…” Arthur thought before pulling a book from the middle of a stack. “Your magic just awoke yesterday and it was later than it should have been. I’m wondering if you’re having some backlash from that.” Arthur skimmed through the pages before stopping midway. “Look at this. It says here that affinity can be inconsistent at first for those who have later development. ‘The flow of magic may come easily to most but not for all. Those who develop affinity later in life often have more difficulty with control and strength. Just like learning language, it is easier for those still in the early development stages of childhood. This does not mean they cannot become strong, nor have perfect control, but that it will most likely take much longer for them to reach the level of their peers.”

Arthur clapped the book shut and looked at Liam. “You shouldn’t worry too much. You weren’t able to see the house properly but you were able to find my house just fine. Just give it some time to level out and I’m sure you’ll feel much better.”

“Okay, I guess. But what about the dream? It felt so real,” Liam reminisced. He sat huddled with his arms crossed around his knees which he used as a headrest.

Arthur sucked the air through his teeth as he laid back into the covers. The fire light danced over him, as he tucked his hands under his head like a pillow. “The dreams are more like memories I think. I’ve never had them since I was not born with magic but I have heard stories. People who are born from magical families, like who I’m assuming you’re a descendant of, often pass down more than just their magic, passing down memories too. It’s believed to continue the family traits and history. Kind of how your DNA gets passed on, it’s like the bones of your magical heritage. You might get more of those so try to pay attention. They could teach you spells, techniques and your family history, things that you probably can’t find in any book.”

“So you’re saying that what I saw happened in the past then?” Liam asked.

“Who knows how old that memory is but it most likely happened,” Arthur confirmed. “You said the house was in the dream?”

“Yeah, I was this lady and she was hunted down because she was a Golden Eye. She gave this book to a little girl and left them in the house. She went somewhere I couldn’t recognize and then I woke up when she was killed I think.”

“That’s awful, I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine what that was like,” Arthur soothed. He reached up to pat Liam’s back but pulled his hand away before they touched, chastising himself internally. He had been alone for a long time but that didn’t give him the right to just go touching people. He should have better control over himself, especially given the state he was in.  

“You said there was a book?”

“Mm, there was a book that Cheryl gave the little girl. She said that only their family was allowed to see it. Do you know what it was?” Liam inquired, turning to look back at Arthur. 

Arthur stared up at Liam’s eyes for a long moment before asking, “did you say her name was Cheryl?”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure. There were four guys after her but the one guy definitely called her Cheryl.”

Arthur continued, “and she was a Golden Eye?”

“That’s what they said. I mean why else would they kill her over it?”

Arthur covered his face with his hands, blowing air out between his palms. Sliding his hands off his face, he shook his head and muttered to himself, “there could have been another Cheryl. It doesn’t mean it was her.”

“You knew her?” Liam pried.

“Maybe? I could have. She was just a kid when I knew her though. We both were. It was a really long time ago,” Arthur said as he laid deep in thought. 

“You said that all those people were killed about three-hundred years ago. Just how old are you? How is it even possible for you to know someone from three-hundred years ago?”

Arthur closed his eyes. “Liam, there’s some things I’m not ready to talk about yet. Let’s worry about getting your magic stable before we get into my history lesson, shall we?” Arthur sat up and ran his fingers along some book spines while he read, pulling a few out here and there. He handed them to Liam and smirked. “Let’s start with these, okay? These will give you a basic understanding of what magic is and how to use it. Oh and you need to start learning even more about plants.” He pulled another book from a different pile. “This one is my favorite. Study this. Once you know this book pretty well we can start making a few things. Alchemy can be pretty dangerous if you can’t tell one plant apart from another.”

Liam couldn’t hold all the books Arthur was piling in his arms any longer so he set them down, creating a small tower of his own. “This is going to take me ages!” he whined. “Where do I even start?”

Arthur pulled out the book he recited from earlier, handing it to Liam. “This one’s probably the best to read first. And, I also want to see if you can name all the plants you’ve drawn. I’m sure your head’s filled with questions, but books are the best place to learn. All the books in this room are a collection of knowledge from many many sources. The books will live long after their creators have passed, giving you knowledge you probably wouldn’t have been able to find otherwise, except for what you’ll get in your dreams. The book you’re holding was old when I first read it. Who knows where the author is now but we still have his book.”

“I never thought of them that way. That’s actually pretty cool.” Liam looked down at the old book in his lap. For being centuries old, it looked really good. The leather binding was still soft but the pages had started to yellow around the edges. He opened the book to look for a copyright year but there was no such thing. Instead, this book looked hand made. There were no cover pages or table of contents. It felt more like a diary. The words were handwritten in calligraphy so beautiful that it seemed too good to be real, the writer was truly a master of their craft. He held the book close to his face, inspecting the lines on the paper. “Wow, someone really wrote this entire book? That’s so cool!”

“Mhm, most in my collection are written by hand or with magic. Many are very rare or even one of a kind. I have always been very interested in collecting as much information as I can, wanting to learn as much as possible. I have plenty of time on my hands and I would go crazy if I didn’t have something to do.”  Arthur picked up the book he was reading when Liam arrived and settled back into the blankets, using the fire to light up the pages. “Now, it’s time for us to read. I have some questions of my own I’m trying to find answers to.” He cracked open his book and continued to read. 

“Okay,” Liam agreed as his eyes lingered on Arthur again. He seemed so perfect. Even the way his white tunic fell across him as he laid within the mess of blankets. Every wrinkle seemed to outline his stature. The glow of the fire warmed the tone of his pale skin, softening the red of his eyes. Each tightly wrapped curl placed perfectly atop his head. He could look at him for hours. Something about him was just so alluring.

Liam sat cross legged in the blankets, and started from the beginning of his book, doing his best to pull his eyes away from Arthur before he noticed. He had been staring maybe a bit too long. Looking over the book again, the font, beautiful as it was, was quite small. He held the book closer and began to read.

The fire crackled and danced in the otherwise silent room. Liam and Arthur read peacefully in the pile of blankets, occasionally rearranging to find a more comfortable spot, sometimes almost close enough to touch. Liam would sometimes ask questions when anything in the book was unclear and Arthur always answered him patiently. The two went on like this for several hours before the sound of Liams stomach growling broke the silence. 

Arthur eyed him over the top of his book, eyebrow corked. “Hungry?”

“Mmm, I didn’t really eat today, now that I think about it. I came out here the second I woke up. I didn’t even have my shoes on all the way before I was out the door.”

“I don’t really have a lot of food in my house aside from some vegetables ready to harvest if you want,” Arthur offered.

“No, that's okay. I should probably head home soon before my mother gets back from work. I don’t really want to deal with her attitude,” Liam declined. “Thank you for everything Arthur. I really mean it. Is it okay if I take this book home?”

“That’s fine, the writing won’t show up to non-magical people anyway. Just be careful with it. That’s the only one in existence that I’m aware of.”

“I promise. I won’t drop it like I did my drawing pad,” Liam laughed as he tucked the book into his front pocket. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked, stopping in the doorway. 

“Fine with me. You know where to find me,” Arthur agreed, returning to his book.

With that, Liam was out the door and back into the forest. He patted the front of his hoodie, confirming that the book had stayed put when he exited the tunnel. The sun had fallen to the west, riding low in the sky. The orange light gave the forest a soft glow, much like the fire in Arthur’s house. Liam began to wonder on his way home, how old is he really? He looks very young, like we are the same age. His skin is flawless, he didn’t have a single wrinkle or pockmark. His red eyes used to scare me but now I think they suit him really well. He looked really good with glasses and normal clothes too. Liam smacked both cheeks with his hands. Oh! Control yourself, Liam! This nice dude is helping you out. Don’t go catching feelings just because some hot guy is being nice to you. Also, you don’t even know what that guy is. If he is as old as he says, there’s no way he’s human. 

Liam strolled up the sidewalk by his house and was relieved when he didn’t see his mother’s car in her normal parking spot. It’s my lucky day, he thought. Liam quickened his steps, afraid his mother would pull in at any moment. Once he reached his room, he tucked the book under his pillow. Even if she can't read it, she will still be mad. She will either think I stole it or I used my food money to buy a new drawing pad.  

Maybe he was in a good mood, or maybe he was trying to hide how much he’d been sneaking about, but Liam cleaned the whole house top to bottom that day. When his mother got home, she had nothing to say after she saw him working diligently. She quietly sat on the couch, lit up a cigarette and cranked up her game show. 

Liam was surprised to find that the fridge had been fully stocked. When did she do this? I didn’t even see her bringing in groceries. He pushed aside a couple bottles to pull out the cut of meat she picked. She didn’t even skimp out on the meat. What is going on with her? He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up, but he didn’t have the courage to ask her himself. He closed the fridge and decided to let it go. He didn’t really want to start another fight. 

“Here’s your dinner. Thank’s for picking stuff up,” Liam said as he handed his mother her plate. He plopped down on the other side of the couch, poking at his food. 

“Mhm,” was all she mustered to say in return, too engrossed in her game show to look away.

They sat silently in the blue light from the t.v. screen, watching the show as they ate dinner together. This was the most time they had spent together in quite a long time, and for once, they weren’t fighting. Liam felt a little happy but also a little nervous. He didn’t know what to expect when she was acting so out of character. He figured he would enjoy it while he could and stayed on the couch, even after he had finished eating. 

His mother was the first to speak. 

“You know, I do love you,” she said flatly, not taking her eyes off the screen.

What? If Liam was still eating his food, he probably would have choked on it.

Heather sighed when he didn’t respond. “Don’t worry. I don’t expect you to say it back. I just don’t remember the last time I said it, so I figured I should tell you. And I’m sorry for always making things difficult. There’s a lot of things you don’t know and I’m just trying to protect you. I don’t expect you to understand yet, but you will when you’re older.”

“When I’m older? How much older do I need to be?!” Liam retorted. He had been burying his resentment for too long, and she just opened that can of worms herself. “I’m in my twenties now, mom! I’m an adult! You keep me trapped here in your personal hell for my protection?! The one I need protection from IS YOU!” He couldn’t hold back anymore. How dare she? Protecting him? That’s what she called this? 

“I don’t expect you to understand. I’m not the best mom in the world but you’re alive and well. We both are.”

“What the hell does that even mean?! How the fuck am I supposed to understand if you never tell me anything?!” As Liam started to raise his voice, the dim light of the room started to flicker.