[Study 02] - Magic Study Page 14

  “You said Roze chose one. Who?”

  “Your brother, Leif.”

  Evidence that the Keep prepared for an invasion of returning students mounted as the week progressed. Servants scurried to air out rooms and dorms. The kitchen buzzed with activity as the staff prepared for the feast. Even the Citadel’s streets hummed with life as residents returned. In the evenings, laughter and music floated on the cooling air.

  As I waited for Irys to return from fetching Tula’s sister, I spent my mornings with Bain, my afternoons studying and my evenings with Cahil and Kiki. My riding had advanced from walking Kiki to trotting, a bone-jarring gait that left me stiff and sore at the end of the day.

  Every night I sat with Tula, connecting with her and lending her my support. Her mind remained vacant, but her brutalized body healed by leaps and bounds.

  “Do you have healing powers?” Hayes asked me one night. “Her physical progress has been amazing. More like the work of two healers.”

  I considered his question. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried.”

  “Perhaps you’ve been helping her heal without realizing it. Would you like to find out?”

  “I don’t want to hurt her,” I said.

  “I won’t let you.” Hayes smiled as he picked up Tula’s left hand. The splints on her right hand were gone, but the fingers on her left were still swollen and bruised. “I have only enough energy to mend a few bones a day. Usually we let the body heal on its own. But for serious injuries, we speed up the process.”

  “How?”

  “I draw power to me. Then I focus on the injury. Skin and muscles disappear before my eyes, revealing the bones. I use the power to encourage the bone to mend. It works the same for other injuries. My eyes will only see the wound. It is truly wonderful.”

  Hayes’s eyes glowed with purpose, but when they shifted to Tula they dimmed. “Unfortunately, some injuries just can’t be healed, and the mind is so complex that any damage is usually permanent. We have a few mind healers. Fourth Magician is the strongest of these, but even she can only do so much.”

  As Hayes focused on Tula, I felt the air around me thicken and pulsate. Drawing a breath became an effort. Then Hayes closed his eyes. Without thinking, I linked my mind with his. Through him I saw Tula’s hand. Her skin became translucent, showing the battered pink fibrous muscles attached to the bones. I saw strands of power, thin as spiderwebs, wrapped around Hayes’s hands. He wove the webs around the crack in Tula’s bone. As I watched, the crack disappeared and then the muscles healed.

  I broke the mental connection to Hayes and looked at Tula. The bruises had faded from her now straight index finger. The air thinned as the power faded. His forehead shone with sweat and his breath puffed from the effort he’d just expended.

  “Now, you try,” he said.

  I moved closer to Tula and took her hand from Hayes. Holding her middle finger, I rubbed it lightly with my thumb as I pulled power to me, revealing the bone. Hayes gasped. I paused.

  “Go on,” he said.

  My strands of power were rope thick. When I applied the strands to the bone, they wrapped around it like a noose. I pulled back, fearing her finger would snap in half.

  Placing her hand back on the bed, I looked at Hayes. “Sorry. I don’t have full control of my magic yet.”

  He stared at Tula’s hand. “Look.”

  Both fingers appeared to have been healed.

  “How do you feel?” he asked.

  Using magic usually left me tired, but I really hadn’t used any. Or had I? “About the same.”

  “Three healings and I need to nap.” Hayes shook his head. His dark hair fell into his eyes. He swiped his bangs back with an impatient hand. “You just mended a bone effortlessly. Fate be with us,” he said. Awe and fear roughened his voice. “Once you have full control, you may be able to wake the dead.”

  15

  FEAR SURGED THROUGH ME, leaving my muscles trembling.

  “No,” I said to Hayes. “You must be mistaken. No one can wake the dead.”

  Hayes rubbed a hand over his tired eyes, reconsidering.

  “Perhaps I spoke rashly,” he agreed. “Only one person in our history could revive the dead.” He shuddered. “And the results were truly horrible.”

  I wanted to ask more questions, but Hayes bolted toward the door, insisting he had work to do.

  Feeling odd and unsettled, I peered at Tula’s motionless form. Through her blanket and skin, I could see each of her injuries. It seemed now that I had learned this new ability, I couldn’t turn it off. The fractures, sprains, bruises all pulsed with an urgent red light. The more I studied the light the more it drew my mind in, and I felt Tula’s physical pain soak into me. In sudden agony, I collapsed onto the floor.

  Curling into a ball, I squeezed my eyes shut. A small part of me knew the pain was imaginary, but, in panic, I still tried to push the torment away. I pulled power from the source. Magic filled me. The buildup crackled across my skin like fire. I released the power.

  My scream resounded through the room as cool relief swept through me, quenching my pain. Drained of energy, I remained on the floor, panting.

  “Yelena, are you all right?”

  I opened my eyes. Hayes hovered over me in concern. I nodded. “Tula?”

  He left my side. “She’s fine.”

  I sat up. The room spun for a moment but I forced myself to focus.

  “What happened?” Hayes asked.

  I wanted to say that I had lost control, to explain that my old survival instincts had kicked in, reacting to the pain without conscious thought. But it hadn’t felt quite like that, and to admit that I had lost control would be dangerous. Uncontrolled magicians could damage the power source and the Masters would be forced to kill me. Instead, I clamped my lips together, trying to bring some order to my jumbled thoughts.

  Before I could speak, Hayes said, “You healed her other two fingers.”

  He stood next to Tula’s bed, and held her left hand up. Hayes inspected her fingers before laying her arm across her stomach.

  Then he turned to me with a frown. “You shouldn’t have tried that without me. No wonder you screamed. You gathered too much power and had to release it.” Hayes gestured to my prone form. “A beginner’s mistake, and now you’re exhausted. You really need to work on your control.”

  While helping me to my feet, Hayes’s frown softened into what might have been relief. “You have the ability to heal, but need guidance. I misjudged you at first, thinking you might be a Soulfinder.” Hayes huffed out a laugh. “Next time, wait for me. Okay?”

  Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded.

  Hayes guided me toward the door. “Get some rest. You’ll probably be weak for a few days.”

  As I shuffled to the apprentice’s wing, I replayed the events in my mind, and by the time I collapsed into my bed, I managed to almost convince myself that Hayes’s explanation was correct. Almost.

  Fatigue dogged me all through the next day. Bain’s morning lesson passed in a blur. Instead of reading, I napped the afternoon away, and fought to stay awake while riding Kiki that night. Cahil’s bellowing eventually pierced the fog in my mind.

  “Yelena!”

  I looked at him as if seeing him for the first time that evening. Coated with dirt and horse hair, his once-white cotton shirt clung to his muscular frame. Annoyance creased his forehead. His mouth moved in speech, but it took me a moment to discern his words.

  “…distracted, exhausted, and you’re going to get hurt.”

  “Hurt?” I asked.

  “Yes, hurt. When you fall asleep in the saddle and slide off the horse.” Cahil controlled his frustration, but I could see by the way he pumped his clenched fists that he wanted to shake some sense into me.

  Lavender Lady tired. Kiki agreed. Forgot apples.

  “Yelena, go home.” Cahil took Kiki’s reins to hold her steady while I dismounted.

  Home? Unbidden, the image of my small room
in the Commander’s castle jumped into my mind, followed by the memory of Valek’s smiling face. I could use some of his energy right now.

  “Are you all right?”

  I gazed into Cahil’s light blue eyes. They were pale in comparison to Valek’s vibrant sapphire color. “Yes. I’m just a little tired.”

  “A little?” Cahil laughed. “Go get some sleep; I’ll take care of Kiki. You’ll need your energy for tomorrow night.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “The New Beginnings feast. Remember?”

  “I didn’t realize it was so soon.”

  “Prepare yourself for an invasion of students and magicians. Come morning, our peace and quiet will be gone.”

  Cahil led Kiki toward the stable. I promised her extra apples before our next lesson as I headed to my rooms.

  Apprehension about the feast, though, gnawed through my fatigue even as I climbed into bed. Half-asleep, the shock of realizing that I didn’t own the proper attire for a feast nearly jolted me awake. What did one wear to a feast anyway? Would I have to don my formal apprentice robe? I wondered, then sighed. Too tired to worry about things like clothes, I rolled over. More important worries such as the need to take control of my magic pushed out all others.

  A frenzy of activity filled the campus the next morning. I skirted groups of people carrying parcels as I walked to Bain’s tower.

  Opening the door to his study, I started to ask Bain about the arriving students, but stopped when I saw he had two visitors.

  From behind his desk, Bain gestured me in. “Yelena, these are my students. Dax Greenblade, a fellow apprentice, and Gelsi Moon, a novice.” With an open hand, he pointed to each in turn.

  They nodded in greeting. Their serious expressions looked out of place on such young faces. I guessed that Dax was eighteen years old, while the girl must have been about fifteen.

  “Have you chosen another student, Master Bloodgood?” Gelsi asked. She tugged absently on the white lace at the end of her sleeve. Violet and white swirls patterned both her blouse and long skirt.

  “No, Yelena is working with another,” Bain said.

  I had to suppress a grin as each relaxed. Dax flashed me a smile.

  Gelsi, though, seemed intrigued with me. “Who is your mentor?” she asked.

  “Irys…ah…Master Jewelrose.”

  The two students seemed as surprised as I had been when Bain told me about Irys.

  “What’s your clan?” Gelsi asked.

  “Zaltana.”

  “Another distant cousin of Leif’s?” Dax asked. “You’re a little old to start training. What strange power do you have?”

  His tone implied curiosity and humor, but Bain said, “Dax, that’s inappropriate. She’s Leif’s sister.”

  “Ahhhh…” Dax studied me with keen interest.

  “Do we have a lesson this morning?” I asked Bain.

  The magician perked up at my question. He instructed Dax to go unpack, but he asked Gelsi to remain. Her heart-shaped face paled for a moment before she steadied herself, smoothing her shoulder-length copper curls.

  “I fear Irys will be back soon and reclaim you,” Bain said to me with a smile. “Gelsi’s focus for this semester is to learn how to communicate magically with other magicians. Irys has told me this is your strongest ability. Therefore, I would like your assistance with introducing this skill to my student.”

  Gelsi’s eyes widened. Her long thick eyelashes touched her brows.

  “I’ll do what I can,” I said.

  Bain rummaged through one of his desk’s drawers and pulled a small burlap sack from it. He set the bag on the desk and opened it, taking out two brown lumps.

  “We’ll use Theobroma for the first lesson,” he said.

  The lumps triggered memories of my time in Ixia. Theobroma was the southern name for Criollo, a delicious sweet that had the unfortunate effect of opening a person’s mind to magical influences. General Brazell had used the nutty flavored dessert to bypass the Commander’s strong will so Brazell’s magician, Mogkan could gain control of the Commander’s mind.

  Bain handed me one of the Theobroma pieces and he gave the other to Gelsi. Then he told us to sit in the two chairs that faced each other. While I would have enjoyed eating the mouth-coating sweet, I thought it unnecessary.

  “Can we try without it first?” I asked.

  Bain’s bushy gray eyebrows rose as he considered my question. “You don’t need it to make an initial connection?”

  I thought about the different people and horses I had linked with. “So far, no.”

  “All right. Yelena, I want you to try to connect with Gelsi.”

  Dredging some energy from my tired body, I pulled a thread of power and directed it to the girl, projecting my awareness to her. I sensed her apprehension about working with this strange woman from Ixia in her mind.

  Hello, I said.

  She jumped in shock.

  To help her relax I said, I was born in the Illiais Jungle. Where did you grow up?

  Gelsi formed an image of a small village wrapped in fog in her mind. We reside in the foothills of the Emerald Mountains. Every morning our house is enveloped in the mist from the mountains.

  I showed her my parents’ dwelling in the trees. We “talked” about siblings. A middle child, Gelsi, had two older sisters and two younger brothers, but she was the only one in her family to develop magical powers.

  Bain watched us in silence, then he interrupted, “Break the connection now.”

  Sapped of energy, I dragged my awareness back.

  “Gelsi, it is your turn to make contact with Yelena.”

  She closed her eyes, and I sensed her seeking my mind. All I would need to do was tug on her awareness.

  “Do not help her,” Bain warned me.

  Instead, I kept my mind open, but she failed to reach me.

  “Not to worry,” Bain consoled her. “The first time is the hardest. That is why we use Theobroma.”

  Bain’s gray eyes studied me with kindness. “We will try again another time. Gelsi, go unpack and get settled.”

  After she left Bain’s tower, he said, “No doubt you wore yourself out yesterday. Hayes mentioned something to me. Tell me what happened,” he instructed.

  I told him about the pain and the power. “It seems I don’t have full control yet,” I offered, waiting to see if he would chastise me. If my actions had truly been an uncontrolled burst, I knew the other Master Magicians would have felt it. And certain that Roze would have acted without hesitation on that knowledge.

  “A lesson learned,” Bain said. “Repairing injuries takes immense effort. Enough for today. I’ll see you tonight at the feast.”

  The feast! I had forgotten. Again. “What should I…” I stopped, feeling awkward and silly to be asking about clothing.

  Bain smiled in sympathy. “No expertise in that matter,” he said, seeming to read my mind. “Zitora will enjoy helping you. She’s at loose ends this year and will welcome some company.”

  “I thought she was busy with Council business.”

  “She is, but she’s transitioning from five years of being a student to being on her own. Having no time to be a mentor doesn’t mean she won’t have time to make a friend.”

  I left Bain’s tower and headed toward Zitora’s in the northeast corner of the Keep. Lively groups filled the campus walkways and people hurried past me in every direction. My quiet walks through the Keep were at an end, yet I felt energized by all the activity.

  Zitora greeted me with a bright smile that only dimmed when we discussed Tula’s condition. Talk eventually turned to the upcoming festivities, and I inquired about appropriate dress.

  “The formal robes are only for the boring school functions,” Zitora said. “Do tell me you have something pretty to wear.”

  When I shook my head, she transformed into a mother hen and set about finding me some clothes.

  “Thank fate you’re my size,” Zitora said with glee.

&
nbsp; Despite my protests, she dragged me up two flights to her bedroom and loaded my arms with dresses, skirts and lacy blouses. Zitora propped her hands on her hips, considering my boots. “Those will not do.”

  “They’re comfortable and I can move easily in them,” I said.

  “A challenge then. Mmm. I’ll be right back.”

  She disappeared into another room, while I waited in her bedroom on the third floor of her tower. Soft pastel paintings of flowers hung on the walls. Oversize pillows graced her canopy bed. The room oozed comfort like open arms wrapping me in a hug.

  With a triumphant shout, Zitora sauntered into the room, a pair of black sandals raised high for admiration.

  “Rubber soles, soft leather and a small heel. Perfect for dancing all night long.” She laughed.

  “I don’t know how to dance,” I said.

  “Doesn’t matter. You have a natural grace. Watch the others and follow.” Zitora added the sandals to the top of my pile.

  “I really can’t take all of this.” I tried to give the clothes back. “I came for advice, not your entire wardrobe.” I planned to go to the market. With the return of the Citadel’s residents, the shops remained open every day.

  She shooed me away. “Hardly made a dent in my armoire. I’m a collector of clothes. I can’t pass a dress shop without finding something I must have.”

  “At least let me pay—”

  “Stop.” She raised her hand. “I’ll make it easier for you. Tomorrow I’m leaving on a mission for the Council, and—much to my chagrin—I will have an escort of four soldiers. Irys and Roze can gallivant all over Sitia by themselves, and they’re assigned all the fun, secret missions. But the Council worries about me. So I’m limited to escorted missions.” She huffed with frustration. “I’ve seen you practicing with your bow near the stable. How about I exchange my clothes for some lessons in self-defense?”

  “Okay. But why didn’t you learn how to defend yourself while a student here?”

  “I hated the Master of Arms,” she said with a deep frown. “A bully who turned the teaching sessions into torture sessions. He enjoyed inflicting pain. I avoided him at all costs. When the Masters realized I had strong powers, they focused more on my learning.”