A Pinch of Moonlight

by A V Awenna

  ***

  ‘You know,’ Demi said, ‘I should start going to school at night. I’m so much smarter in moonlight.’

  She was buzzing with energy, and had no problems showing off her skills to Owina, as they stood in the moonlit inner courtyard. The crystal pendant Owina had lent her made all the difference, allowing Demi to focus and channel moon energy.

  ‘It’s a shame you can’t Walk the Walk by moonlight,’ Owina mused. ‘But I’ll teach you all I can to help you through tomorrow – or later today, I guess. Tell me about that disappearing water again.’

  So Demi told her about the glass of water that had vanished when she’d reached for it, leaving just a puddle on the windowsill.

  ‘There’s plenty of water vapour in the air,’ Owina said, ‘so maybe you managed to get some of it to condense into liquid. And glass is actually a liquid – a very slow-flowing one, but maybe you managed to coax it into the shape of a glass.’

  ‘But it was gone when I reached for it,’ Demi said. ‘If it wasn’t for the water on the windowsill I would have thought it was a dream.’

  ‘Maybe you can only work that magic when you’re half-awake,’ Owina said. ‘It’s a very specific type of consciousness – different brain waves from normal. I’ve learnt of similar magic in my research. A lot of what people call magic is just tricks and coincidences – if it was for real it would defy the laws of physics, so it can’t happen in our universe. But some people can alter probability – they’re the ones who have really lucky escapes; some notice things others miss, and some rare talents can get inside the structure of matter, and alter the physical processes. You could be one of those. It would explain why the nixies brought you.’

  ‘I can still only do magic when I’m in moonlight, and I have to be either meditating or half awake. How’s that gonna help me when I’m fighting monsters in the middle of nowhere?’

  ‘There’s another way of getting into the right mental state,’ Owina said. ‘I’ll teach you a dance and a rhythm and a chant which you can use to help you to focus.’

  Owina showed Demi how to adopt a stance with her feet slightly apart, knees relaxed, hands loosely clasped over her navel.

  ‘Now close your mouth and open your mind,’ Owina commanded.

  Owina showed Demi how to breathe slowly into her abdomen, relax her shoulders, and focus on internal sensations. When Demi was relaxed enough, Owina taught her a complicated dance involving stamping and clapping two complementary rhythms. It took a few goes to get right, but instead of getting frustrated and giving up like the old Demi would have done, she persevered, building on the bits she got right and working on the joining sections. After nearly an hour she had it, managing to get the rhythm right from start to finish, and when she adopted the final pose she felt the power flowing through her, from the centre of her brain through the crystal around her neck to her belly.

  ‘Now think of a picture which sums up how you feel right now,’ Owina told her. ‘And when you need to get back into this state, just think of the picture again.’

  Demi tried it, and it worked. When the magic subsided she leaned against a table and let out a long whistle, which set all the windows rattling.

  ‘That’s a powerful whistle!’ Owina noted. ‘Learn to find the right note, the one which will resonate, and you could use that whistle to blow something to pieces.’

  ‘Couldn’t I do that anyway by getting between the atoms?’ Demi asked.

  ‘Lord, child, don’t even consider it. You could cause a nuclear explosion – rumour has it you wouldn’t be the first. Use the skills you’ve just learnt to hold things together – it could come in handy if you have to walk on thin ice, or cross muddy ground.’

  ‘I did that!’ Demi leapt back up and hopped around as she remembered. ‘Back when I was a little girl and my mum made me join the Brownies – that didn’t last long! But we went out on a nature ramble, and Brown Owl took a wrong turn and led us through a big patch of sticky mud. It was one of those weird days when the moon’s high in the sky even though it’s daytime, and I remember I made the mud firmer so I didn’t get it all over me, and I wondered why no-one else bothered. That was when I met Blackbird! Everybody else was fussing about, trying to get the mud off their shoes, and I just wandered over to a patch of trees ’cos I sensed there was something interesting in it. And Blackbird was there, and he told me how clever I was. It was the first time anybody told me that.’

  Owina raised an eyebrow. ‘That’s an impressive story. And you are clever; you just need the right sort of teacher. I wish we had more time – I could train you properly, and I know I’d learn plenty from you, too.’ She rummaged in her bag, and produced a small box. ‘I’d like you to help me test this,’ she said, opening the box, and beginning to unpack the contents from a whole lot of bubble wrap. ‘It’s a prototype, so don’t go betting your life on it, but it could provide an extra power boost when you need it.’ She finished unpacking the object, and held it out to Demi-Lee.

  It was a hexagonal gadget, about two inches in diameter, made of metal, crystals and plastic. Owina pointed out the features – three crystal panels on the side turned natural light into power. In between the crystal sides, three clickers functioned like mouse buttons, and the front panel was an LCD display. It weighed virtually nothing, and was attached to a long, discreet chain.

  ‘It’s awesome,’ Demi gasped. ‘Where did you get it?’

  ‘We made it, me and my team. It’s a prototype – the magic is nothing new, but the technology – the human stuff – is cutting edge. I came here to test it in a more magical universe, but maybe you can do that for me. It’s worth a fortune, but your life is more valuable. I can’t believe anyone would be heartless enough to trick someone so young to Walk the Walk. That Hafren wants shooting.’

  ‘If it works are you going to sell them back home? You’d make billions. You’d make Bill Gates look poor!’

  ‘That’s not going to happen,’ Owina said. ‘What you’ve got there is incredibly powerful; it’s as destructive as a nuclear bomb in the wrong hands, and much easier to hide. There’s a clever password spell on it, which I don’t have time to teach you, so I’ll have to start it up for you before you leave. The power should last all day – it’ll give you a start up for your own spells, as you seem to need a running jump at the moment. It’s got a translation spell on it too – it’s not quite perfect, but it’s pretty good, far better than any software you’ve ever used.’

  Demi held the gadget in the palm of her hand, and Owina explained how to use it. Despite her tiredness Demi soon learnt how to activate the translation spell. She could feel the power stored in the crystals, and with a bit more guidance from Owina she used it to kick-start a cloaking spell. That drained the power, and unfortunately casting the magic to strengthen atomic bonds would have drained even more magic. ‘Only use that in an emergency,’ Owina warned. ‘It’s always better to use your human senses than to try and use magic you’re not quite competent in. How are you with True Seeing?’

  ‘What’s that?’ Demi asked. ‘X-ray vision or something?’

  ‘No,’ Owina said, ‘It’s what rock climbers use to find a way to their destination. Nothing magical about it really.’

  Demi boasted that she was great at climbing onto rooftops and over walls, so Owina gave her a few more tips to find a path that was almost invisible, and reminded her to let her skeleton take her weight, not her muscles.

  Owina wrapped up the gadget and put it back in her bag, explaining she needed to recharge it before the moon set. She promised to return it to Demi before she set off on the Walk. ‘Keep it out of sight,’ Owina warned. ‘If Hafren or any other elf sees it they’ll take it from you.’

  ‘Am I cheating if I use it?’ Demi asked.

  ‘You’ll probably be dead if you don’t,’ Owina replied. ‘At least if you’re caught and disqualified you can still return to Annwn at a later date �
�� and whoever befriended you won’t be trapped here forever.’

  ‘How do you mean?’ Demi asked.

  ‘It’s the terms and conditions for Walking the Walk – I overheard the fairies inside talking about it. You could back out now, if you wanted, but you’d lose all your magical power and privileges, and the nixies would never transport you again. The one who befriended you – your Blackbird – would be trapped in Annwn forever. Would be tough on both of you, but better alive with no legs than dead with two, as my Grandpa used to say.’

  Demi sat against the table, deflated. It was totally unfair, but she now knew ‘unfair’ was the way of things in this world. It was infuriating. She sat and brooded on how much she despised Hafren, the biggest bullying coward she’d ever met.

  ‘You’re making the gadget glow,’ Owina said.

  Demi looked at the object in Owina’s hands. It was definitely powering up. As Owina moved the gadget back into Demi’s sphere, Demi could feel the magic beginning to flow.

  ‘Maybe I’m stronger and more powerful than Hafren realises,’ Demi said. ‘I’m not going to back down and abandon Blackbird. I’ve never backed down from a bully before, and I’m not going to start now. I’ll Walk that damn Walk if it kills me – let’s see how Hafren copes with having an innocent kid’s blood on his hands.’

  ‘You’re a fighter, I can see that. But don’t forget to use all your other skills before you resort to your fists. Please take the gadget and field test it. I’ll put a location tracker on it, so I can find you – or what’s left of you – if I need to.’

  It wasn’t very encouraging. But it was definitely far too late for Demi to back out.

  ‘You should get some rest,’ Owina said. ‘There’s still a few hours before you need to be up. I’ll ask the healers for something to help you sleep. Don’t worry; I’ll be there to see you off – and I’ll make sure you don’t go without the gadget.’