Page 2 of Chosen Spirits (The Bartender Mage #4)

"May I read it?" At Leif's nod, Dewey gestured to Nakatomi, who drew out her wands faster than Leif could see.

Spinning them like drumsticks—actually, upon closer inspection, they were drumsticks—the Magus gestured, and Leif's recipe book lifted off of the table and serenely floated over to land in front of the elderly mage.

"Thank you. Hmm. ' Worth a Shot: Alchemical Cocktails and other Spirits .

' What a marvelous little title." Placing his hand on the book, Dewey's eyes went white as a blue neon glow enveloped the book.

After a few seconds while Leif looked on, the professor pulled his hand back and gave him a grin.

"A spirits- mancer! Ha! I like it. It's not a protected term like magus or doctor, so I'd definitely use it if I were in your shoes. "

Dewey took his feet off of the table, then gestured for Nakatomi to return Leif's book back to him.

He leaned forward to look at his compatriots more seriously.

"It's alchemical magic, like he says. Many of his potions' effects are based upon external energy manipulation, but there are a number that touch upon biological, mental, elemental, and spiritual realms."

"Is his potion-making consistent?"

"It seems so, with only minor variation based upon brewing technique.

About the same as asking the same bartender to make you the same drink several times over the course of a luxury cruise, I would imagine," Dewey said with a sly grin.

"But let us see for ourselves. Apprentice, if you would. Make us any potion of your choosing."

"Yes, Professor!"

"Dewey."

"Yes, Dewey. I'll make a Telekinesis potion, then. First, I gather my ingredients."

Reaching into his alchemist's kit where he had several dozen different types of alcohols and mixers in stoppered bottles, the better with which to concoct a variety of magical effects, he withdrew one of them and set it on the table; Beluga Gold, a top-shelf Russian vodka.

It was soon joined by orange juice from a small cold box, and then ice from an enchanted thermos.

The latter had been a costly investment, but one super scary field mission with subpar potion effects had been more than enough to convince Leif it was worth the expense.

"After that, I make the cocktail! This one's a Screwdriver, which is super easy to make.

The only difference between making a cocktail and making a potion is that I have to empower the alcohol before I pour it.

" With a familiar bit of mental effort, Leif imbued his spirit energy into the vodka bottle, which began shining brightly to his spirit senses.

After filling a highball glass with ice, he poured in a measured splash of vodka, quickly followed by the orange juice.

"I then give it a quick stir, and it's done. "

Leif set his stirring rod aside onto a velvety cloth, then jumped when his cocktail rose off of the table. Turning, he saw Magus Nakatomi levitating it towards the evaluators, setting it down in front of Holly.

Leif stood there, squeezing his hands together while the three of them murmured comments to each other, or performed the occasional magical scan. After several minutes, they seemed to come to an agreement, and Nagatomi took the drink and downed the whole thing in one go.

"That's a smooth vodka," she said approvingly. "Oh, hmm. Holly, are you getting this?"

The Seer whistled long and low, staring at her colleague. "Yes. The way that his spellwork reshapes the surrounding manafield to be in sync with your own spirit is fascinating. So how is it?"

Nakatomi began doing a series of tests, lifting up small objects around the room, then repeated the levitations using her wands for comparison.

"It's intuitive. The spell also seems to have natural safeguards to prevent accidents, probably a byproduct of the apprentice's intent. It's slower and less accurate than my own TK ability, but there's no mental drain at all. I'm also not feeling any weakening of the original power source?"

"You won't," Holly said. "The potion's mana isn't being used to power the effect directly, it's being spent to hold a conduit open that gives you access to this new power."

"Like buying a three-hour pass to an arcade instead of paying per game," Dewey said, and Holly nodded.

"Best to do a few more experiments, though," the Seer said. Reaching beneath the table, she grabbed the unfortunate headless hen and used it to gesture at him. "Apprentice! I could use something to go with my brunch. What do you have that pairs well with raw chicken?"

◆◆◆

Leif felt a tingle in the back of his head as Julia drove through the ward that was around the home he shared with his two boyfriends, before parking in front. Gathering his belongings and the bag of trash from their snacking during the long drive home, he exited the car.

"No sign of any intrusion," Julia said as she turned around, scanning the semi-secluded property with a conjured disc before dismissing her magic. "The security ward will last until the end of the week. Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

Leif nodded. "I pick up Tucker from the airport tomorrow at noon, and Rahul will be back sometime around then as well. I'll be fine!"

"Okay, but call me immediately if there's any trouble.

You might be a certified mage now, but this sorceress that's after you isn't small potatoes.

The ward won't really do anything other than give us advance notice.

" Julia pointed at the scroll case that Leif held, then smiled.

"And again, congratulations, Leif. I'm so proud of you. "

"Aww!" Leif hugged his spellbook and scroll-case tighter to prevent himself from bouncing forward and latching onto his friend, who didn't appreciate spontaneous hugs a tenth as much as he did.

Instead, he shifted the items in his grip, freeing himself to reach out an arm for a handshake.

"Drive safe! I'll see you in a couple of days. "

"Wednesday morning, promptly at eight, Mr. Becken," Julia said as she went back around to her side of the car.

"We'll get Employee Resources to upgrade your status, so any future work will have the added pay that comes with your certification.

You'll get a new ID badge, too, so if you want a new picture taken, dress nicely. "

"Oh, for sure. I'll even make sure to put on fresh glitter!"

Julia smiled, then gave Leif's home one last, long look before getting in her car and driving off.

Leif watched her drive away, then fished around in his backpack for the key to the house.

After taking a quick bathroom break and getting himself some water from the fridge, Leif sat down on the sectional in the living room and opened the scroll case.

Pulling out the thick parchment, Leif unrolled it carefully, looking over the three shimmering signatures of the magi that had seen fit to endorse his skill with magic and grant him his certification.

Leif gave himself a moment to feel good about himself, then rolled his certificate up and stored it away.

He'd already sent out texts during the hours-long drive back from the university, and Rahul had promised he'd give him a proper call when he was free.

Right this moment, though, Leif was all too aware of the emptiness of his home, so he started finding excuses to turn on appliances in order to drown out the silence.