Fearless (The Blue Fire Saga) (4 page)

“
No problem,” Dominic said. “
You were wise to check.
”

He
took the book
from Leesa
and thumbed slowly thro
ugh the pages
.

“I
placed the spells in the order I think you should try to learn them,” he explained. “I chose the order on a combination of ease and usefulness.
” He handed the book back to Leesa. “I know this is not the best way for you to learn, but it
’
s bet
ter than doing nothi
ng while I’
m gone, and
it
i
s
safer than being with me, for the time being, at least. Remember
what you
ha
ve learned so far. Always start with your everywhere
and nowhere technique, and when
possible, try to find a real example of wh
at you are trying to do
to provide
you a visual image. When that
i
s not possible, try to create as realistic an image in your mind as you can
before you attempt the spell
.
You should probably begin each session with something you can already do—simple telekinesis, perhaps.”

Dominic’s voice turned even more serious. “
Remember most
of all
not to
be
discourage
d by failure
. Just as with everything
else
you
ha
ve accomplished to this point, there will be many unsuccessful attempts before you
finally succeed at any of the
spells
or other magic in the book
.
”

Leesa listened closely. She thought back t
o the beginning of her training. S
he had struggled even to learn the everywhere and nowhere thing
—her name for the ancient waziri breathing and mind clearing technique
that
was the p
recursor to all successful magic.
Doing it
was second nature to her now.
All she had to do was take a deep breath and think her trigger word—“breathe”—and she was ready to go.
She had also spent hours and hours practicing control of
her ability to move things with her mind, and knew she had only scratched the surface of that power. Learning magic had been
painstakingly
slow and
difficult even with Dominic to help her. With him gone, she knew she had better be prepared to accept lots of disappointment.

“I’ll remember everything you’ve said,” she promised.
“I know it won’t be easy.”

“Do
n
o
t ove
rdo it, either.
Too much work can be just as bad as doing none at all.
A tired and frustrated mind can perform little magic.
”

Leesa hadn’t expected to hear that. She
ha
d been imagining herself practicing for hours every day, to make Dominic proud
of her progress
when he returned.

“H
ow much is too much?”

Dominic thought for a moment. “
Limit yourself to an hour or so on most days. Every now and then you can do more, especially if you feel you are on the verge of achieving something.
But y
ou should
also
ta
ke a day off every now and then
.
”

Leesa nodded. “I understand.” She tucked the book under her arm. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

Dominic sighed.
“A month, at least.
Probably more.
I dare not come back until every trace of the magic I expended today is gone from my aura.
Until then, the black waziri will be able to track me
by it
, even from
great
distance
s
.”

“Where will you go?”
Rave
asked.

Dominic
looked at Leesa. His
lips formed a half-smile.

“Everywhere and nowhere.”

“Ha! Very clever,” Leesa said, smiling at the wizard
’
s joke.
She was glad to see he didn’t feel the danger was as yet too urgent.
“
Now tell me what that means,
”
she said.

“
It means that
I will have to keep on the move—buses and trains again, I’m afraid—t
rying to stay a few steps ahead of my foes.
I will be going everywhere, but staying nowhere.”

“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” Leesa asked.

“I ho
pe so. I eluded my black brethren
a hundred years ago—I do
n
o
t see why I can
no
t do it again. This time, I
a
m
actually
glad they will be able to track
me so easily, for i
t will allow me to draw them away from here without actually seeming to. They will expect me to flee after using my magic
.
They will think I am running from them, rather than leading them away from you.
”

Dominic put his hands on Leesa’s shoulder and looked into her eyes.

“If
you
sense any danger at all to you, Leesa, leave immediately. It doesn’t matter where
you go
—go anywhere, but go quickly. As long as you wear my ring, I will be able to find you when the time is right.”

Leesa looked down at the beautiful ruby
and gold
ring on her hand.

“What ring?” Rave asked.

Leesa had forgotten that the ring was invisible to anyone but her, unless she took it off. She pulled it
from her finger and held it out so Rave could see it.

“This ring,” she said.

Rave
reached out and touched the beautiful red stone with his finger. He
smiled.

“You are full of surprises, Leesa. Life with you is certainly never dull.”

Leesa smiled back. She loved the way Rave used the phrase “life with you.” It had such a sound of togetherness to it.

“I
have to make sure you never
get bored,” she said.
“After all, I’m just a simple human and you are a volkaane.”

“Ha, ha.
You are far from simple,”
Ra
ve
said. His smile widened into a broad grin. “B
oredom
has definitely not been a problem. Not by a long shot.”

“There’s one other thing about the ring,” Dominic said
to Leesa
. “Should my enemies manage to defeat me, you will feel a slight burning in your finger, and then the ring will vanish. If that happens, you will know I am gone.
”

Leesa stared down at the ring again. “Then this ring had better never vanish, mister,” she said sternly.

Dominic smiled.
“I don’t plan on it.
But you should know, just in case.
Also, t
he ring has one other property. If you take it off for any length of time, I will sense it. So if you need me, remove the ring and keep it off for a
n hour or so
. I’ll come back
as quickly as I can
.
”

“I understand,” Leesa said. “I hope I never have to take it off, though.”

While Leesa
slippe
d the ring back onto h
er finger, Dominic reached
into his magical wallet. This time, his hand came out clutching a thick sheaf of hundred dollar bills. He held them out to Leesa.

“In case you need to travel quickly, this should get you anywhere you
need to go and pay for a place
to stay
as well
.”

Leesa looked down at
the money. There had to be a couple of
thousand dollars there, at least. She had
momentarily
forgotten about all the cash and treasure Dominic carried in his wallet.
A few
thousand dollars was but a tiny portion of the wealth he carried with him. She took the money.

“Thank you,” she said. “I hope I don’
t need
to use it.”

Dominic stuck his hand back into his wallet and pulled out five gold coins. He handed them to Leesa.

“Just in case you need more money,” he said.
“Be careful how you use these. They may draw attention.”

Leesa stared at the beautiful gold coins. They were the size of silver dollars, with the face of some long dead ruler on the front. The gold alone would be worth a fortune, but she guessed the value of the coins surpassed even the value of the metal. The waziri had been collecting payment and treasure for
ages. She thought the coins were probably payment for services rendered to some anc
ient kingdom. She would love
one day
to
hear the stories behind Dominic’s treasures.

Thinking of the waziri brought her mind back to the black wizards.

“If the black waziri do co
me to campus, will I
re
cognize them?”

“Well, they will not be wearing black capes or anything
strange
like that
, if that’s what you are thinking,” Dominic said, smiling. “But I think you will recognize th
em. They are not dissimilar to
me or Josef in appearance.
”