Magic Born (12 page)

Sadie waved her wand and the shards of ice disappeared before they could hit us. “And that’s why we do this in a little practice room. Did you feel how the power of your talisman is stronger than that of the wand?”

“Yes, it’s overwhelming. I don’t know how I could possibly control it.”

“That’s where practice comes in.”

I tried again, this time with less force, and my hand acted more like an ice dispenser on a soda machine, little bits of frozen water trickling out of it and falling to the ground.

“I can’t feel the intricacy like I could with the wand.”

“That’s normal. Do it with the wand again to get a feel for it.”

I took a step toward the chair that my wand sat on, but Sadie stopped me.

“How about you call it to you magically? Hold out your hand and say ‘come, wand.’”

I held out my hand and repeated the phrase, and the wand flew to my hand.

“Excellent. You’re beginning to think and act like a mage.”

I highly doubted that Sadie was capable of being negative, but I didn’t let that keep her words of encouragement from lifting my spirits and my confidence. She celebrated each baby step with me, and by the time we broke for lunch, I felt like a mage.

D
iscovering
Your Magic Later In Life: A Latent Mage’s Guide to Spells
. The hefty volume of spells sounded exactly like what I needed, but I resented the “later in life” title. Sure, I wasn’t a child, but I wasn’t exactly middle-aged either.

I’d eaten with Mikael and Sadie who informed me that Casper had left on a short business trip not long after leaving me. They thought it best that I spend the afternoon studying, so after lunch I grabbed
Discovering Your Magic Later In Life
and some other books from the library on Mikael's recommendation and plopped on my bed to study.

More theory followed the introduction, but I didn’t have patience for that. I flipped through to where the spells began and got to work.

* * *

A
fter practicing all day
, I was mentally exhausted and didn’t want to worry about carrying a conversation, so I opted to eat alone in my room. That might have been a mistake. With nothing but a hearty beef stew to hold my attention, my thoughts wandered.

I pictured Alex in his panther form among the snow. He’d probably already headed back south. By this time, he could be hundreds of miles away. Strange how someone could come into my life for such a short amount of time and completely and utterly disrupt it. In all likelihood, I would never see him again, which seemed crazy given all we had shared.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I picked up my phone and called Alex’s number, already knowing what I’d hear.

“We’re sorry, but the number you’re trying to reach has been disconnected.”

With that futile exercise out of my system, I returned to eating.

If Alex were here, he’d be impressed by my progress. It didn’t seem fair that he only got to see my magic in a negative light. I missed his support, his protection, his kiss. But he didn’t have feelings for me, not really. The attraction had been the product of the talisman, nothing more.

A ping notified me of a new email, and I grabbed the phone to dismiss it. The world my phone connected me to seemed so far away. The more time passed, the more I questioned whether or not I’d ever return to that life.

Dozens of unopened messages sat in my inbox. The particular message I’d clicked on was from GreyMist.

With each word I read, my heart rate increased. The lightning from my talisman must not have fried my computer as I had thought. Between GreyMist asking about the trip to headquarters and the message that I knew Casper had left in my mailbox, Marcus might put two and two together. And since I kept all of my logins and passwords stored in an app on my computer, Marcus had access to everything. He could’ve already logged into my bank account and seen my purchase at the diner. I would have no way to know since he was doing it all from my computer. The image of him sitting at my desk, at my computer, snooping around left me feeling violated. My apartment, my home, was tainted now, even more than it had been with the tracker orb.

If I replied to GreyMist’s email, Marcus might see it, but I also didn’t know if it was wise to change my passwords and let him know he’d been found out. The damage was already done; I didn’t want to make matters worse by responding incorrectly. Casper wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. Until then, I’d keep this knowledge to myself. He would know what to do.

I couldn’t eat after that. I lay in bed and tried to sleep, but worrisome thoughts kept me awake. Marcus would continue to hunt me until he found me. I had faith in Casper’s ability to protect me, but for how long? The spells I’d learned today would do little should I ever find myself in trouble. The most beneficial addition to my arsenal had been the magic cloaker from the supply closet, but I didn’t even know how to use it.

After countless minutes of tossing and turning, I gave up on sleep and the illuminator above me brightened as if it could read my thoughts. With the cloaker comfortably in my pocket, I went to the library in search of a book that would tell me how to use it. Waiting until morning to ask Sadie or Mikael would be more effective, but I needed to do something to feel like I was making progress toward protecting myself.

The titles on the spines of the books rearranged themselves as I browsed through them until I saw
Common Magical Objects and Their Uses
. That seemed like the most likely book to help me. Instead of grabbing it with my hand, I pulled it from the shelf using magic with my talisman. Thinking like a mage, that’s what Sadie had called it, and it’s what I needed to do. Even with Casper gone and virtually zero possibility of anyone walking in on me, I didn’t dare sit on the throne chair. Instead, I cuddled up in one of the brown leather chairs and went to work researching the cloaker.

“
K
at
, where are you?”

I jumped at the sound of Mikael's voice, sending the book in my lap toppling to the ground. The illuminator that had lit my reading last night floated in front of me, displaying Mikael's face. Books lay scattered on the floor, and a line of drool slid down my chin.

“Did I wake you?” Mikael asked with a mixed look of apology and bafflement. All sense of time had left me last night as I read, so I had no trouble believing that I’d slept away much of the morning.

“No,” I said unconvincingly as I wiped the drool from my chin and sat up. A yawn betrayed me when I opened my mouth to say more. “Maybe. I’m in the library. I must have fallen asleep reading.”

“Sounds like a fun night.” From anyone else, it would sound sarcastic, but I knew from Mikael's expression and the enthusiasm with which he’d recommended books yesterday that he spoke sincerely. “I’m going to be working with you some today. Do you think you can teleport to the training floor?”

“Sure,” I said, determined to do it on my own even if I didn’t feel capable. Casper had insisted nothing could go wrong, and I’d successfully teleported with others several times. Even if it took me a few tries, the idea of teleporting on my own excited me, gave me a sense of freedom. “Do you mind if I freshen up and have some breakfast first?”

“No, of course not. I’ll meet you in half an hour.”

“It’s a date,” I said, but Mikael's face had already disappeared.

After I placed the books back on the shelf, I realized I should’ve levitated them there, but I was too tired to think like a mage. I put the cloaker back in my pocket and headed upstairs with
Common Magical Objects and Their Uses
. It had contained the information I needed to work both the communication orb and the cloaker, and I might want to reference it in the future. The rest of the books had been for fun. An entirely new world had opened to me full of endless possibilities to discover. I hadn’t experienced this kind of rush from learning since before my parents had died.

* * *

S
tanding
in the teleportation ring with my cloaker and communication orb in my jeans pocket and my wand in hand, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and envisioned the training floor as clearly as I could remember it. Every other thought fell from my mind. The feeling of being squeezed started almost immediately. Even so, it still surprised me to find myself on the training floor when I opened my eyes. It didn’t seem possible to successfully teleport on my first try alone, but there I was, facing Mikael who mirrored my own delight back to me.

“Congratulations! That’s your first solo teleport, correct?”

“Yeah, I got it on my first try.”

“I knew you would. I can tell all this still confuses you, as if you feel you might not belong, but trust me, Kat, you’re a very talented mage. You have as much right to be here as anyone.”

“Thanks.” It sounded lame and not at all sufficient to express the gratitude I felt for him saying it. I wanted badly to belong here, but the adjustment to not only new people and surroundings, but a new identity, was as difficult as it was exciting.

“I wanted to work with you today so we could discuss the reading you did yesterday,” Mikael said as he led me to yet another new room. This one was set up like a conventional classroom with pairs of chairs and desks facing a blank wall instead of a whiteboard. Wands would no doubt act as markers.

“Go ahead and take a seat anywhere you like.” I chose a desk at the front of the room, and Mikael pulled a chair around to face me. “From my wake-up call this morning, I take it you took to the reading well.”

“Yes, it’s all so fascinating. I wish learning about Earth was this fun.”

A wide grin spread across Mikael’s face. “Imagine how I felt coming here. Learning about Earth was as fascinating for me as it is for you to learn about Elustria. Did you have a chance to practice any spells?”

“Oh yes, the first book I devoured was a spell book you recommended. It did a good job of explaining everything, but I didn’t learn anything there that’s going to help me protect myself against Marcus.”

“Casper told me you’d discovered he was the one who killed Meglana. I’m afraid the kind of spells that will help you against him are a little ways off, but we can certainly proceed in that direction. However, I doubt you’ll ever face Marcus. You’re safe here. There’s really not much reason for you to worry about defending yourself.”

“But I want to continue in my mother’s footsteps. I’m not saying I’ll ever be as good as she was,” I hastily corrected, “but I want to continue her legacy. That’s why reading about Elustria and our history didn’t seem like a chore.”

“I’m glad to hear that. We can always use another good mage. Have you tried getting the talisman off again?”

“No. To be honest, I don’t really see much point anymore. When I first came here, I wanted it off because it scared me; I couldn’t understand it. Now it’s becoming a part of me, of who I am. I can understand the bond you and Sadie were talking about with your wands.”

“That’s understandable. I see you have your wand with you now. Do you prefer using it over the talisman?”

“In some ways it’s easier, but it feels more foreign, if that makes sense. It’s a nice learning tool, but I feel more ownership of the magic when I use my talisman, even if it’s more difficult to control.”

“That’s fair. We do need to figure out how to take the talisman off, though, so you might want to try. Once you’ve mastered the stone, it will obey you in all things. If you tell it to release around your neck, it will.”

“Do you think it’s possible that we just haven’t stumbled upon the right spell to take it off?”

“That’s entirely possible. Remember though that spells are simply the most perfect way that mages have found to command the magic to do a specific action. There aren’t many known spells for removing a talisman from oneself.”

Given all the progress I had made, I might be able to remove the necklace. I cleared my mind, took a deep breath, and visualized the chain of the necklace breaking as I pulled on it. Nothing happened.

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.” I looked to Mikael for answers, but the disappointment on his face was clear.

“We’ll have Casper try when he gets back.”

“Why is it so important? I want it on now.” I’d already accepted it as part of my life. As long as I could control it, I didn’t see any reason to take it off.

“That’s why Casper tried to take it off of you before you started working with magic. The more you want it on, the harder it’s going to be to take it off. That’s problematic, because the ultimate goal is to get you to Elustria. As soon as we can be sure of your safety, we fully intend to take you there. Once there, however, your talisman will need to be registered with the Magesterial Council. That can’t happen if it can’t be removed.” Mikael shifted in his seat, as if there were more he wanted to say but couldn’t.

“Wouldn’t the Magesterial Council have a way of taking it off?” There had been a chapter on registering magical items with the Council in
Common Magical Objects and Their Uses
, but I’d only glanced over it.

“I’m sure they would, but they’re not going to let you keep a talisman you can’t control. That’s why we’re hoping to remove it here. The other reason we want to get it off is because your mother may have left a message in it, and we would like to examine it closer without triggering the defensive charms she placed on it. We think that the charms will break as soon as the talisman releases itself from you.”

“What kind of message?” My heart leapt at the possibility of discovering something more from my mother.

“We’re not sure, but she would have wanted you to carry on her legacy, or if you weren’t up to it, someone else. The problem is that Meglana often worked alone, so we’re left without a lot of information. Whoever killed her did it because she was onto something, and they didn’t want her to find it or share it with anyone else. It’s important that we not let all of her work be in vain.”

“I feel the same way. I wish I could get it to come off. I really don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’ll try anything.” Frustration welled up inside me, but it wouldn’t help anything. I pushed it aside and tried to believe that the knowledge would come with study and practice.

“I don’t want you worrying about it. Try to take it off whenever you think about it, otherwise leave it to Casper and the rest of us to worry about. You’re one of us now.”

One of them—a mage. I’d found my place among my mother’s people. I wasn’t Serafina, Dark Sorceress anymore. I was Kat, Mage-In-Training, daughter of Meglana. This was only the start of my quest to get the talisman off, and once it released, that would start a new adventure. I wasn’t playing solo, though; this was a group quest, and I had a pretty good group.

Except for Analise. Every group had a pain-in-the-ass person no one wanted to play with but did anyway because they were family. She filled that role nicely.