by Jay Boyce
“Thanks for getting this out so fast! And yes, it is.” She ignored the shocked look on Felice’s face as she picked up her fork, stabbing a few carrots and shoving them in her mouth. She chewed, moaning very quietly in bliss.
“It’s so pretty… When did he hire a light mage to help him?” Felice asked in curious awe, seemingly fascinated by her phoenix.
Jade smiled, chewing furiously before she swallowed and answered with a soft snicker, “When I walked into his shop and accidentally lit this phoenix up.” She then proceeded to cut her steak and shove it in her mouth ravenously. Mmmm… It was delicious. She started cutting everything as she chewed for easier access as quickly as possible, pausing only occasionally between bites to sip at her juice.
“You’re a light mage?” Felice eyed the still skeletal Jade before her incredulously.
“Mhmmm. Healer too.” She paused only long enough to give her an emphatically short response before digging in again. You did not try to get between a girl and her food! Aside from that, she needed to let people know there was a healer around so she could get practice…and money.
“Oh.” Felice seemed dumbfounded, but then her sharp brown eyes quickly focused in on how quickly Jade was plowing through the plate in front of her. Startled, she said quickly, “Oh, I’ll be right out with the next meal.” Jade just nodded happily, enjoying her food. She scurried away, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Felice had flagged another waitress on her way to the kitchen and they had put their heads together, whispering furiously.
The two of them returned shortly after that with the other two meals and mugs. The new waitress was staring at the plate Jade had just finished polishing off as she was finishing her juice with a satisfied sigh. “You finished that already?” She seemed utterly shocked, but Jade just smiled sweetly at her.
“I’m a growing girl, and I feel like I haven’t eaten a thing all day.” You know, apart from the three plates of pancakes and eggs this morning. And the half a pig for her midnight snack. But those didn’t count; they were forever ago! They just set the plates and new mugs in front of her, collecting the now empty plate and mug she’d just demolished. She happily started digging in again while they stared at her in amazement for a second. “So good!” She mumbled happily.
Deciding to leave her alone to eat while they went to attend to other customers, she happily munched on her meals. She had slowed down a little bit though, given that she’d alleviated the worst of the hunger pains. It was really good food, and she could see why Lucas had recommended it. For only a laurel and a half, she had gotten three decent sized plates. Granted, at that rate, she’d only last a dozen meals before she ran out of money. So while it was amazing, she’d need to see if there was a cheaper, but still filling and delicious, alternative.
When she was winding down, finally full, Felice came back again. She cast another admiring glance at her phoenix until she asked politely, “Would you like anything else?” She was still masking her obvious surprise that the waif had managed to eat everything in front of her. When Jade shook her head, she continued. “That’ll be one laurel and five leaves then.” Nodding, Jade reached into her pocket and pulled out two laurels, handing them over to her. Felice smiled and took them, saying simply, “I’ll be right back with your change.”
Jade simply nodded, not feeling the need to say anything. She was happy that now she had a blinking dot for Felice. Instead of acknowledging it, however, she slowly and carefully packed her phoenix back up again. She caught a few people glancing over at it, trying to figure out what was shining. When Felice came back with her friend, she checked her notifications quickly to get her name–apparently it was Donna–they appeared disappointed that she’d put it away already.
“Here you are, miss.” Felice handed her back five leaves, of which Jade took two and handed them right back to her.
“Keep that. Thank you for your help.” She smiled, pausing for effect as she held her box up. Talking just a little louder so that curious ears could hear, she burbled effusively, “Damian has a set of this new line in his shop for sale. We’re calling them the Light Within collection. You should go take a trip to The Glass Phoenix and see the rest of them.”
“We will. Thank you, miss.” Felice and Donna both smiled fervently. After all, The Glass Phoenix was only two doors down. Even if they didn’t feel like they could go in, he’d displayed the glowing figurines right at the front of the store so they’d be eye-catching, especially as it got darker and the glow became more noticeable. It had been her suggestion, and she was fairly proud of it, since that was what had drawn her into the store in the first place.
Jade grinned and nodded, sauntering cheerfully out of the store, box held tight against her chest. There was absolutely no way she would let anything happen to it. She’d go down and use her body to protect it first.
She began her trip back to the library, though sadly she was now avoiding people instead of being able to touch them casually. She didn’t want to accidentally bump someone and send herself flying, not with her phoenix in hand! As she was about to walk into the main square, she noticed a store with a few coin pouches in the window amongst other various cloth items and clothing. Next door was another inn called The Red Wyrm. It sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place where from, so she ignored it.
Detouring, she gingerly opened the door, slipping inside to the familiar ding of the bell. A thirty-something man who was nearly as lanky as she was came hurrying out of the back with a slightly harried smile. “Hi there! What can I do for you?” His sandy brown hair looked askew, as if he’d just woken up from a nap and forgotten to smooth it out.
She smiled softly. “Hello. I’m looking for a small, slim coin purse, and maybe a bag.” She wandered closer to the section that was obviously the coin bag section. He came over as well, a more natural smile on his face now, though there was something off about him that she couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was the weird fruity smell that grew more pungent as he got closer.
“We’ve got a lot of very popular bags right now…” He started to go on a spiel, picking up several larger coin bags and extolling their virtues. She stopped him after the second bag when he took a breath, hurrying to interject, only in part because she wanted him to shut up. The other part was that whatever the smell was, it was plainly his breath.
“I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. I would like a small, slim, fairly flat bag. Nothing bulky.” He deflated a little now that his sales pitch had been interrupted, but she didn’t want to spend all afternoon in there. She still had another stop to make before she went back to the library, after all! He started pulling out bags from behind the others. They were basically flat pockets, similar to a wallet, but made of cloth and closed with buttons. No zippers? Ugh, at least that’s simple enough to make. Yet another thing for her to ‘invent,’ though she supposed the more there was, the better it was for her in the long run.
However, her eyes lit up when he pulled out a pretty green bag that matched her eyes. She immediately interrupted his spiel again, saying simply, “I want that one.” He seemed a little deflated again, then seemed to comfort himself by the fact that he was making a sale. Taking it from him, she turned and walked over to the larger bags without giving him a chance to start extolling their virtues.
Sadly, they were just…sacks with handles of varying quality. No pockets, nothing. Okay, apparently purses and backpacks are on the list as well… How do these people carry anything without mashing it all to heck? She chose a sturdy medium sized bag in dark gray and turned to him. “This too. How much is it for both?”
He considered the two bags, then her, before saying glibly. “One leaf and eight nuts.”
Her eyes narrowed. He hadn’t noticed that when he’d been rummaging for more bags to show her, she’d noted the tiny numbers discretely penned on the wooden tables they were on. There had been a four on the table with her coin pouch and a six on the table with the bag. Obviously, the coin pouch was of
higher quality. Contemplating him, she decided he thought she was a pushover and had jacked the price to nearly double, planning to pocket the difference.
“Oh really? Because I think that the purse was four and the bag was six nuts, leading me to believe the price was only one leaf.” Thinking of something, she silently drew her library card out of her pocket, staring him straight in the eye as she slid it into the coin pouch. “Now, do I need to talk to your boss, or are you going to be reasonable?” He blanched. Sweet, it worked! She had figured the silver card was an indicator of power around here, especially this close to the square, and she was proven right.
“N-no, you’re right. I must’ve been m-mistaken. One leaf for both.” He was stuttering in his urgency to appease her. She narrowed her eyes, pulling out a leaf and handing it to him.
“Very well.” She turned with her bags and began to walk to the door. She paused there, glaring back at him as she warned with a soft, threatening voice, “Don’t ever try that again.” He looked scared, and she smirked evilly as she opened the door and walked outside, letting the door loudly clang shut behind her. She stepped to the side of traffic flow, quickly putting the remainder of her coins in the pouch before slipping it into her bra. Hey, it was the safest spot where she was most likely to feel if someone tried to take it. Besides, not like she had much going on there…though she did have something now! Huzzah!
The phoenix box was now safely ensconced in the larger cloth bag, which was in turn still held tightly to her chest. No way was she letting go!
Cheerfully humming Let It Go, she pranced proudly towards her last stop, the nearby bakery. It was a little nicer than the last one, and it wasn’t quite as crowded. All of the merchandise was behind a glass counter as well.
She waited a minute until it was her turn at the counter, then happily ordered six muffins, two loaves of various sweetbreads, three baguette-like breads, two chocolate croissants, three rolls, and two small cheese wheels–one white and one yellow.
The woman took everything and then queried, “Would you like an extra croissant to round it off to an even four leaves?”
“Yes, please!” She had been trying to hold back on only ordering two of the chocolatey goodness, but screw it. She pulled her coin purse out of her bra to the lady’s raised eyebrow, checking her coins. She frowned slightly, which caused the lady to frown. She shook her head with a sigh, “Sorry, I thought I had exact change. Can you break a laurel for me?”
“Oh, of course!” Jade handed the coin over and the lady took it with relief, counting six leaves back to her. It was obvious she feared she wasn’t going to have enough for the massive amount she’d ordered. Her food was wrapped neatly in two cheese cloths, and she smiled, putting them into her bag, which she now held in front of her gingerly after tucking the coin purse away again.
“Thanks, have a great day!”
“Come back anytime!” The woman called out cheerfully. Like seriously, anytime. She would be happy to have such a big spender coming back. Jade just grinned, making her way to the library.
Inside, she bounced happily towards Lucas, who was once again reading. He looked up before he said anything this time, which was an improvement. Apparently this morning had given him a scare! He smiled upon seeing her grinning face, revealing cute dimples for a moment, then sniffed the air as she got closer. He asked in a warning voice, “Jade, did you bring food into the library?”
Defensively, she reached into her bag and asserted sassily, “Eric said I could, as long as I didn’t get anything on the books. I asked, okay. I’m speshul.” He was shaking his head at her, but she ignored that and pulled out her little metal box, placing it on the counter and opening it, taking out the phoenix and unwrapping it before proudly showing Lucas. “Look! I made it sparkle! Isn’t it pretty?”
Chapter Fifteen – Drained
Lucas couldn’t help but snicker at her puppy dog ‘praise me already’ look. When he finally studied the sparkling glass, he was amazed. The light was delicately done, not overpowering the piece, but bringing out its strengths. He thus gave her the praise she so wanted and deserved. “You did a great job. Are you sure you only learned light magic today?”
She grinned, attentively wrapping it to put it away. “Positive. This was actually an accident; I had no idea it would become permanent. I just wanted to make it glow for me.” Now that he’d praised her, she didn’t mind telling him she hadn’t meant to do it.
He nodded. “Glass is one of the easiest things to attach light magic to. Generally, the more transparent something is, the easier it is to make it permanent.”
She paused, curious. “Is all magic like that? It attaches permanently more easily to some things than others?”
He looked thoughtful, then shrugged. “I’m not sure. I mostly studied light magic. I’ll see if I can find a book on it for you though.”
She nodded absentmindedly. Finally, she remarked, “I think you’re short-changing yourself. If you can do one kind of magic, I’m sure there’s at least another kind you can learn. Once I collect them all and figure out how they work, we’ll see what else you might have an aptitude for.”
“Collect them all?” He was shocked. She’d already told them earlier that there was probably no limit, but she supposed having no limit and intending to learn everything could be considered different. But still, she’d asked him for books on all of it, so why the shock? Maybe he’d concluded that she just wanted to learn the theories?
Picking up her box, she grinned at him. “I’m gonna be the very best, like no one ever was. To learn them all is my true test, to master them is my cause.” She was doing it in a dramatic sing-songy voice, leaving him utterly confused as she walked off after grabbing a light ball and starting to hum cheerfully.
When she got to room 15, she opened the door, staring into her new cell. This one didn’t even have a window like the hospital had, and it was self-imposed. At least she could leave it. It had seemed brighter before, but maybe that was because Stephen and Eric had their light balls in there too.
She surveyed the room more thoroughly for the first time. Apart from the little table and two chairs around it, there was a small couch and side table. She gently put her bag down, then got to rearranging. Moving the little side table to a corner where it wouldn’t be bumped, she then retrieved her metal box and brought the phoenix out. She almost instantly felt a little bit better. The warm glow was almost like a nightlight for her.
Jade sighed, wishing for a window. It was so bright and sunny outside, so why couldn’t she have a little light? Or maybe read outside? In theory, she understood. She was in the middle of the library, and sunlight weathered things.
Returning to her little table, she picked up her book, pulling the light close and beginning to read where she’d left off. Whump. She jumped, dropping the book as she glanced around in panic. Belatedly, she realized it came from outside, and it was probably just Lucas or someone setting down another pile of books. She groaned. This was utterly ridiculous.
“That’s it. If I can’t go to the light, the light is coming to me.” She didn’t have any other glass to light up, but upon inspecting the walls and ceiling… There was still plenty of things she could work with. Lucas had just said it was harder, but whatever. Light was light! She was already having it go against the natural order of things by making it glow from nothing, so who cared what substance it was?
She used the couch as her leverage to be able to touch the ceiling. Thinking about it, she didn’t need the whole rock to glow, just the one surface facing her. She focused on that, calling the familiar warmth out as she pushed her power into the stone. Unlike before, it felt like pushing it into mud. She frowned. It was soaking in the magic without doing anything. Feeling the strain, her stubbornness kicked in. “You. Will. Freaking. GLOW!” She growled at the stone, shoving her magic into the stone forcefully with the picture of what she wanted firmly fixed in her mind.
It was as if the magic stuttered and then f
inally took. It was dim at first, then got brighter until it was like a ray of sunshine emanating from the ceiling. Satisfied, she flopped down onto the couch, feeling like her magical muscles had been strained. She grabbed a muffin, devouring it quickly before bringing her book over to the couch to curl up and read. As soon as she felt she’d recovered a bit, she’d do the next stone.
***
Lucas knocked on the door. “Jade, are you still in here?”
Startled, she called out, “Yeah, I’m here. Come on in.”
The door opened and she saw Lucas’ face fill with surprise before he cursed softly and shielded his eyes. After a moment, he seemed to adjust to the radiant light as he stepped inside, gaping around with amazement. “For heaven’s sake, what did you do to the room!? It wasn’t like this earlier!”
She shrugged and smiled. “I don’t like the dark, and I didn’t have a window. So I made it not dark.” He was staring in awe around the room. Every single one of the rocks in the ceiling was glowing with a soft light.
“How’d you get it to stick on the rocks?”
She grinned. “I decided I was more stubborn and a stupid rock wasn’t going to stop me from having light.”
He scrutinized her strangely, then muttered, “Nevermind. Common sense doesn’t apply to you.” Running a finger across his pocket watch, he then asked. “We’re closing down the library. Were you planning on staying the night or something?”
She looked addled. “What time is it?”
He glanced down, opening his pocket watch in a nervous twitch, even though he knew the time, because hello, he was closing the library. “Almost ten.”
“What!?” She squeaked in amazement. She really, really needed to get her hands on a watch. What with the whole, being trapped in a stone box that she’d lit to high heaven, she had no concept of time in the room. She’d ate, practiced magic, read, paced while practicing magic, ate some more…
