Mindbender (24 page)

“Exactly my point,” Isabel said. “We have to be ready to join him as soon as possible. He’s not going to wait for us and I’m sure he could use our help.”

“Wren, have you been sleeping here the past two days?” Isabel asked.

Wren shrugged. “Of course, I wanted to be here when you woke.”

Isabel smiled fondly at the waifish young woman. “Thank you, but I’m fine now. You should go spend some time at home so your parents don’t get worried about you.”

“I sent word to them,” Wren said. “They won’t be worried.”

“Maybe not, but I bet they’d like to see you now and then,” Isabel said. “Besides, I’m going to go poke my nose into the coven’s business. It would probably be best if you weren’t with me when I do.”

Wren’s eyes widened a bit. “Please be careful,” she said. “My mom always says it’s a bad idea to cross a witch.”

“I’ll bet. Go on home. I’ll see you at lunchtime,” Isabel said.

Chapter 16

Wren left Isabel and Abigail alone. When Abigail got up to leave for her Sky Knight training, Isabel motioned for her to follow her out onto the balcony.

“The box did much more than cure my poison,” Isabel said in a low whisper. “It was incredible. I’ll tell you all about it later, but for now you should know that I can hear the wyverns and even control them. The magic in that box was amazingly powerful. It took the magic of my necklace, magnified it and infused it into my consciousness.”

Abigail blinked in surprise. “This changes everything. With the wyverns, we could leave right now.”

“I know,” Isabel said, “but I think we should take advantage of the opportunities we have here. You still need to learn how to ride better, not to mention how to fight from the air, and I think I’ll be able to help Alexander much more after I’ve taken the mana fast.”

Abigail nodded slowly. “All right, but we have to make sure the coven doesn’t find out about your power until we’re ready to use it.”

“I agree completely,” Isabel said. “As fond as I am of Wren, I didn’t want to risk telling her. I don’t think she would intentionally betray us but she’s young and naïve. There’s no telling what she might let slip.”

Abigail smiled. “That’s probably wise. I’m off to ride,” she said as she headed for the door.

“Enjoy yourself,” Isabel said. “I’m going to see about the mana fast.”

During their stay in the fortress island Isabel had familiarized herself with the layout fairly well. There were still a few areas where she got turned around but she always found her way eventually. Today was no different. She made her way to the triumvirate’s audience chamber and found the hall that led to the working chambers for each of the triumvirs.

The passage was guarded by two big Sky Knights. They stopped her before she could enter the hall. “What’s your business here?”

“I’ve come to speak with Magda,” Isabel said simply.

The Sky Knight frowned disapprovingly. “
Mistress
Magda has not requested your presence.”

“No, but I’d like to speak with her nonetheless,” Isabel said.

“That’s not how it works. The triumvirs are not to be disturbed. When she summons you, then you may speak to her, not before.”

“I see,” Isabel said as she peered around the big man and down the hall, which ran straight for fifty feet and had three doors, one on each wall and one at the end.

“Which doorway leads to Magda’s chambers?” she asked.

He regarded her suspiciously for a moment. “Why do you want to know?”

Isabel shrugged innocently. “Just curious,” she said.

“If I tell you, will you leave quietly?”

Isabel smiled brightly. “Of course.”

“The door at the end of the hall is Mistress Magda’s, the door to the right is Mistress Cassandra’s, and the door to the left is Mistress Gabriella’s,” he said with a hint of exasperation.

“Thank you,” Isabel said and started to turn when the door at the end of the hall opened. Mistress Lita stepped out and closed the door. When she looked up, she smiled brightly and waved at Isabel.

“Isabel, I was just coming to find you,” Lita said. “Mistress Magda would like to speak with you.”

The guard rolled his eyes when Isabel smiled with satisfaction and walked past him.

Magda’s outer chamber was more an office than a sitting room or entry hall. The walls were richly polished walnut panels and the floor was covered with a large finely crafted carpet. Free-standing brass lamps were positioned at even intervals around the edge of the room. Two medium-sized oak desks faced the door with a woman seated at each. Both were reviewing documents when Isabel entered with Lita. One looked up with mild surprise before motioning them through the large door behind the desks.

Lita smiled her thanks and opened the door without hesitation. Isabel trailed behind her into a slightly larger square room. There was a large desk that looked like it had been carved from a giant piece of driftwood and then stained and polished to a shine. It was positioned to face away from the far left corner of the room. Opposite the door was a set of windows that opened out onto a small balcony. A small round table and two cushioned chairs occupied the far right corner, and a large stone hearth filled the wall to the right. Four comfortable-looking chairs faced the fireplace in a semicircle. On the left was a low table with couches on two sides and plush chairs on either end. Magda sat in one of the chairs, holding a cup of tea. She smiled at Isabel and motioned for her to sit.

“Thank you, Lita,” Magda said. “Would you excuse us, please? I have some things to discuss with Isabel.”

“Of course, Mistress,” Lita said with an understanding smile as she left the room and closed the door behind her.

Isabel took a seat on the couch to Magda’s left. Magda poured her a cup of tea as she sat down.

“Cream or honey?” she asked.

“Both, please,” Isabel said. She took the tea with a smile.

“Lita tells me that you have recovered fully from the poison, although she is uncertain as to how,” Magda said. “In any case, I’m glad to hear that the magic provided by Mage Gamaliel has served its purpose.”

Isabel nodded her agreement. “Me, too,” she said. “I knew the Guild Mage would do all he could to help me, but I wasn’t sure it would be enough. I’m relieved that it was.”

“I’ve given some thought to your training for the mana fast and decided that I will instruct you personally,” Magda said. “If you are to survive, you will require very rigorous preparation. I must warn you, Isabel, this will not be easy. Most who attempt the trials have spent many years in preparation. I must help you accomplish a great deal before you will be capable of success and even then the outcome is not guaranteed.”

“I understand,” Isabel said. “I remember when Alexander took the mana fast. He had so little training. Wizard Kallentera recommended that he train more thoroughly. I also tried to convince him to wait, but he went ahead with it over my objections. That was one of the most frightening and difficult weeks of my life. All I could do was wait for him. I think I understand now what he knew then. Opportunities often come along only once. If you don’t seize them, you may not get another chance.”

“That is very true,” Magda said. “If you’re certain, then we shall begin.”

“I’m certain,” Isabel said. “I miss my husband. He needs me and I need him. Our people need both of us. The sooner I meet your conditions, the sooner I can stand with Alexander against the enemy.”

“Very well,” Magda said. “We will spend this morning talking about magic. A basic understanding of the nature of the firmament and how we interact with it will provide you with a solid foundation for your studies and help you fully comprehend the reasons for the exercises I will assign.

“Magic is the ability to impose your will on the firmament and thereby produce effects in the world of time and substance. The firmament is the source of reality. It underlies the world we see around us and creates the present moment. It is the source of creation. And it
is
a creation, because every moment is created by the firmament. We experience only the one moment of the present. The past is only memory and the future only possibility. The firmament is like a wave. We exist only on the crest of the wave as it flows through time.

“Left to its own devices, the firmament will create the next moment very much like the previous moment according to its own rules. Objects move or not according to the state they were in and the energy they possessed in the previous moment. People act with volition, but they too are governed by the rules of time and substance.

“Magic allows those rules to be broken. What is impossible according to nature is well within reach for one who can bend and shape the firmament. The process for manipulating the firmament is essentially a simple one. First, you must see the outcome you desire with perfect clarity in your mind’s eye. Second, you must establish a connection to the firmament. Third, you must send your vision of the coming moments into the firmament with an uncompromising desire to see it become reality.

“In truth, everyone has a limited capacity for magic. Many people who have never taken the mana fast perform magic every day, although with far less dramatic effect. The child who wishes for a toy or a pet with such intensity that it becomes real to her within her own mind and then she acquires, through chance or accident, the toy or pet she desires is just one example. There are countless others. All life is connected to the firmament because all life is infused with Wizard’s Dust to some degree.

“It is literally the stuff of life. Without it we would not exist. Consciousness and thought are made possible by the presence of Wizard’s Dust within our bodies. It is the thing that links us to the firmament. In nature, it’s very difficult for a person to accumulate a sufficient concentration of Wizard’s Dust to make a deliberate connection to the firmament with his or her conscious mind. That is where the mana fast comes in.

“By consuming refined Wizard’s Dust, we develop the ability to create a deliberate and conscious connection to the firmament. The small magic I spoke of a moment ago is accomplished through an unconscious connection to the firmament. Real magic depends on a conscious, deliberate connection.

“That is where the firmament becomes dangerous. It is a limitless, unimaginably vast ocean of potential. Within the firmament, anything is possible. When we make a connection to the firmament, we risk losing ourselves in the ocean of infinite possibility. It’s almost as if the firmament craves our input, as if it wants us to use it to create. In exchange for our input, the firmament offers a feeling of joyous rapture unlike anything you will ever experience. Limitless creative power at your disposal is enough to overwhelm the senses of most people. Training is necessary to develop the ability to overcome the urge to blindly throw yourself into it.

“Wizards accomplish this through a rigorous mental training program that results in the ability to concentrate and focus their minds with great intensity and with great emotional detachment. This concentration is their defense against the firmament. Once a wizard has made contact with the firmament, he shuts out all distractions and focuses his entire mind and will on the vision of his desired outcome. As a wizard grows with experience, he’s able to focus even more intensely until he reaches the rank of mage. Mages can open themselves to the firmament fully without fear of losing themselves in the ocean of creative potential. Less experienced wizards must carefully control the degree of their connection to the firmament in order to protect themselves from the full seductive power of the rapture.

“The rapture plays on emotion. Wizards learn to shut out emotion and rely on reason almost exclusively when they’re casting a spell. This approach doesn’t work nearly as well for women. The first attempts at creating female wizards ended badly. For many years it was forbidden for women to undergo the mana fast because those who survived eventually succumbed to the rapture and lost their minds in the firmament.

“Balthazar Reishi’s youngest daughter secretly defied him and underwent the trials. She was a wise and passionate woman who devised a solution to the problem. Rather than viewing a woman’s emotional nature as a weakness, she saw it as a strength. Kendra Reishi was the first true witch.

“She found that she could establish a connection to the firmament and withstand the rapture if she evoked a powerful emotion within herself before she established the connection. The more powerful the emotion, the more fully she was able to connect with the firmament. Through the use of deliberate emotion, she created a distraction that was sufficient to offset the pull of the rapture. To this day, witches use the discoveries she made to wield magic.

“The way a witch interacts with the firmament creates some advantages and some disadvantages. Since our connection to the firmament is based on emotion rather than concentration, we can establish a greater connection to the firmament much faster than a wizard. As a result, witches can wield great power relatively quickly. However, since emotion is not sustainable in the same way as mental discipline, witches cannot rise past the level of high witch, the equivalent of a mage.