by J E Mueller
“My favorite.” I shook my head, not certain I could be much better, but it would be worth the effort. “Whatever helps will be good in the end.”
“We’re meeting again to plan in the early evening. I’ve been making varying drafts based on different scenarios I came up with. Hopefully Lee can point us in a more direct path.”
“His magic sight only lets him see the future a week in advance. So you’ll have a good guess for that length.” I explained, not sure how long term the plans were that he was attempting to craft.
“Probably gets a little more wobbly towards the end of that.” Zarek nodded, trying to recall what he already knew about magic, “The near future is likely sharper with less changes likely, but a path can easily vary a day or more out. Good to keep in mind. We’ll take everything into consideration.”
“Who would've thought we’d be at this point a little more than a month ago,” I mused as we looped back around to head back. It was odd having a conversation like this with a family member. I had been so certain they wouldn’t want anything to do with me, and yet here we were.
“I still can’t believe you came back, and now we’re planning missions together. Heh… time really does make fools of us all. Sometimes I’m glad to be wrong.” Zarek nudged me. “I’ll be able to convince you and your boyfriend to come to my wedding right?”
I thought to correct him, but decided against it, opting to keep things light. “Get out of this alive and I’ll even wear a pretty dress.”
“Fantastic. You’ll have to do the honors of giving a speech. Sandra and David made everyone give one at theirs. Got to include you in such a lovely tradition.” He winked.
“Everything about this sounds terrible, but if it’ll help you get home I’ll do it.” I nudged him back. “Go make your plans. I’ll see you this evening.”
Zarek nodded and continued on his way back. Pausing for a moment, I decided I’d check the side of town that was attacked when I was last here.
They were replacing the fence around the town with a proper wall. A makeshift fence was in the place of the areas still waiting to be covered. In the distance, I saw where my final fight had taken place. The scorched grass was dead and had turned into dirt. It had been a night I’d never forget, no matter how much I tried. Probably for the best, since it had gotten me here.
I saw Leila heading my way and waited for her to reach me. I hadn’t seen her since we first started practicing with my magic, and it seemed odd how far I had come since then.
“Rumor was the girl on fire was back.” She smiled, finally reaching me.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been on fire here,” The idea amused me.
She motioned toward the scorched ground, “It matters not. The mark you left earned you a title. I see things are finally coming together for you.”
I nodded. “Things are falling into place, but all of it is revolving around the same problem.”
“Some problems have the opportunity to teach us much. Use it,” Lela encouraged, not wanting me to waste the chance.
“More people will die from this senseless ignorance and hate. I wish there was a way around it.” If I was involved it seemed death would be certain however, even without my involvement, lives would likely still be lost. War was not for me.“Do you think we’ll be able to put an end to this?” It would be interesting to get an outside opinion.
“For the time being,” Lela replied. “Hate will always return. It’s how it is handled at its beginning that matters most. It can bloom into pain or bloom in understanding. We’re past that point here. Hopefully, we will do better in the future and not let it blossom in such a way.”
“Hopefully,” I agreed, looking around at the remaining damage in the area. “Any glimpses into the future that show what path we should take?”
“Aggie has mentioned some, but it’s hard to say what is best.” She paused looking suddenly tired. “You’d have better luck gathering all those who can see the future together and seeing what they believe the best path is. Each will give you a different answer, but that doesn’t mean any are wrong. The best path will vary based on each person’s beliefs.”
“That may actually be a good plan. Gathering opinions never hurts.” I thought about it for a moment. “Do you have any thoughts from a non-vision standpoint?”
“None worth offering. While we all have our own opinions about this situation, not all are important. My only concern is that there will be those in my own home that may not want to allow non-magic people to reside or even visit here. Hatred and mistrust go both ways. Some will let the actions of the few change their judgment of the whole. One bad apple shouldn’t mean the tree needs to be chopped down, but I’m never surprised when someone readies the ax.”
“I didn’t think of that.” I nodded. “We could be just as bad as them, then.”
Lela smiled. “Exactly. Extinguish the flames before the fire catches.” With that she continued on her way.
With my brief exploration of the town complete, I headed back. When home was in sight, Tella came running up to me. The air around her full of magic.
“Key, you’re back!” She threw herself at me but then caught herself.
I laughed. “Come here,” I said hugging her. “I’ve practiced a bit, but don't surprise me, okay?”
Tella hugged me with all the energy a friend could give. “Why did you take so long to come back? You didn’t even say goodbye!”
I had no good response for her and felt bad for letting her down. “I’m sorry. It was a rushed decision. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
She nodded, “Okay, just remember to say bye next time. Things have been crazy around here, but you said us tough girls have to stick together right?” It was odd having my words quoted back to me.
“Of course. I’ll do my very best,” I agreed, smiling, “Now what are you running about for today?” I was relieved she had forgiven me so easily.
“Oh yeah! Lee asked me to find you!” she replied, all smiles again.
“Thank you. Where is he?” I wondered why he didn’t just use his magic to find me. Then again, he’d be using it enough in the near future.
She thought for a moment. “I don’t remember what they called the new meeting place. I’ll show you!” She grabbed my hand and started to pull me.
It wasn’t much further than the original city hall location. Lee sat outside on a bench and was talking with a small group. I recognized Colleen and Patrick but I didn’t know the third person.
“Oh good, she found you.” Lee said, standing up.
“Sorry, I got distracted.” Tella blushed. “But I found her!”
I wondered how long she had been distracted and how much time it had taken her to find me. Either way, it amused me. “What distracted you?”
“Paula has a new cookie recipe and she asked me to try some!” Tella beamed with excitement. “She had used one of my suggestions. We’re going to see if any other ones work.”
Lee laughed. “Thanks for your help, Tells.”
“Bye!” she said, dashing away.
“I adore your cousin.” I said watching her zip out of sight.
“Anyway…” Lee said, bringing our attention back to him. “As I was telling these guys, we’re going to be helping with an ongoing mission to bring back peace to the area. I’m not able to completely fulfill my position at this time and will be taking a short leave.”
“Speaking of that, Leila made a good suggestion,” I commented.
Everyone turned towards me. “What did she say?” Lee asked curiously.
“It wouldn’t hurt to get a little extra support from those with visions of the future so that we can take the best path. Of course, there will be many paths and opinions but knowing a few possible outcomes could help a lot.” I replied.
“Leila said that?” Patrick said with surprise, “Usually she doesn't want them all involved. I wonder what her reason is.”
“It sounded mostly like she was concerned about
everyone starting to hate those without magic.”
Colleen nodded. “Oh yes, there have been whispers already. We’ve been doing what we can, lest we turn into our own enemies.” She sighed.
“I like the idea of gathering them,” Patrick said, getting up “Of course they’ll all say they’re right but you know, there are many right paths. Getting this solved quickly will be the best for all of us.”
“Maybe it’d be best to ask them individually. That way they can’t argue with one another and we can freely choose what plan works best without it seeming like we picked favorites,” Lee suggested.
“Whatever works.” I shrugged. “Anyway, I feel like I interrupted you.”
“Oh yeah, that.” Lee laughed, remembering why he had asked me to join them in the first place. “So this is Jamie.” He motioned towards the person I didn’t know. She nodded. “Jamie has actual fire magic and may be able to help you learn how to create and control your shields.”
We looked at one another for a moment.
“Yours isn't elemental,” she said to me in surprise after a moment.
“That’s why I asked you.” Lee nodded. “You’re more on the same level.”
“I’m not sensing a difference,” I said with confusion.
“That’s actually the point,” Jamie caught on first. “Elemental magic feels different. I’ve gotten really good at telling the difference. You can’t really sense a difference because there is none. It’s cursed magic.”
“Oh,” I said, understanding. I had forgotten that some people here weren’t just gifted and that those who were cursed also resided here.
“Long story short,” Jamie said, summing up her history, “I’m from a village about two weeks south of here. My father learned of a terrible deed my mother had done and shortly after I was born, he escaped with me to a place he had heard rumors about where they help teach kids to control their magic. After a few years, he heard of this place and moved us here. I’ve spent a lot of time at the Order and have been learning as I go here. I had the basics down before I was ten, and have been slowly progressing through whatever new tricks I could learn.”
“Wow, learning from the start makes a huge difference.” It was nice seeing that it had worked for someone.
“It does,” she agreed. “We’ll have to go over what you already know and can do, but I’m sure we can give you a better advantage.”
“Thank you, Jamie,” Lee said. “Whenever you’re able.”
“Does now work?” She looked at me.
“Yes.” I nodded, ready to seize the opportunity. “Let’s do this.”
27
We parted ways with the group. For a moment I was unsure how I felt about not knowing of Jamie sooner, but I remembered Lee had said a lot of people had recently been out of town. It was exciting to have an opportunity to work with someone who truly understood the uniqueness of my situation.
“I’ve got a great place in mind to practice,” Jamie led the way as we talked. “You were here for that battle recently, right?”
“Yes,” I now had a feeling I knew where we were going.
“There’s this bit still damaged from the battle and - oh that was probably you wasn’t it? Fire magic can get out of control fast.” She shrugged, piecing the puzzle together for herself. “No matter. When someone has the time after all this nonsense is over, all we need to do is dig up the area and mix it with untainted earth and it’ll start growing again.”
“That easy, huh?” I was surprised it wasn’t one of those ‘time and patience’ solutions.
“Yeah, the world is filled with magic of its own. It’ll be fine. We can help it along, or let it rest and recover on its own time. Magic can’t hurt it forever. It’s stronger than any of us,” Jamie explained.
“I’m glad to hear that, actually. The damage was a side effect I wasn’t expecting.”
“It happens. You’ve got to learn somehow. Let’s start from the beginning when you started to gain control. Explain what happened when you touched someone for the first time without killing them.”
I laughed for a moment. “Those are two different moments, actually. The first time I didn’t kill someone was because of their own elemental magic. Lee’s magic to be exact. But I guess it was that same night where -thanks to his magic- I felt some semblance of control over my own.”
I explained everything, not leaving out any details. There was no time for that. I needed to be on the top of my game if I was to be of any help in my brother’s plans.
And I had a feeling I would be a bigger part of them than I wanted to be.
“No surprise your magic is based upon your emotions,” Jamie stated. “It’s actually for the best. Most curse magic is.”
“I thought it was only partly based on my emotions.” Why did it always come back to this?
“Nope. All. It’s hard to explain it, but you’ll understand when you think about it. Any time it’s worked strongly, your emotions have been in one direction or another. When it’s weaker your emotions are more stable. Knowing this will help you control your magic.”
She motioned to the area around us. “If you can keep yourself level-headed, you can make this work. Alternatively, if you can push it in the correct direction you can still make it work. Anger will cause your shield to burn all inside it who can’t defend themselves. Joy, happiness, and positive emotions can make the shield flare up equally large but you can keep it from latching onto others. It’s impossible to keep hate infused fire from taking its toll.”
“I think I’ve learned more in these five minutes then I have in any conversation before.” I laughed.
“Once you get control, learning doesn't have to be time consuming. It’s more about finding the right information and path for you.” Jamie smiled, happy to share. “Can’t do that traveling and trying to keep away huh?” She laughed and took a seat on the ground.
I rolled my eyes. “All right, let’s get this practice underway.”
“Fantastic.” Her eyes lit up with excitement. “Let’s see your happy face, we’re going to work on not “burning” me.” She made air quotes. “You can’t kill me with curse fire since it’s too much like mine, but I can feel an attack and you’ll quickly feel it too. So we’re going to try working with a wide range of emotions, eventually even anger, since your fire, yours can’t kill me. Actually, it may give me a power boost. That’ll be fun to try.”
“How so?” I asked curiously. “Just since it’s so similar it’ll be an extra charge?” There could be a lot of use for that.
“Yes. It should be like a shot of adrenaline. I haven’t gotten to work with another person with curse fire in a long time. It’ll be a good learning experience for me and great practice for you.” Jamie cracked her knuckles, looking eager to start. “Now let’s see that happy shield. You’re going to be awesome at this soon!” She cheered me on.
Following her idea, and already feeling good I called forth more happy thoughts to the front of my mind. I thought of Tella’s antics, Juni’s wonderful cooking, rescuing my brother, and Lee being very much alive. It felt good to think about and I summoned my magic based around these positive images and created my shield. It was getting easier to create it.
I opened my eyes and saw flickers of flame, not a full fire shield as described to me before. It was awesome to actually see it and study it. The rush of magic going from me, into it, and back around in an endless cycle was strange, but it was exciting. It was about time.
“Good,” Jamie appraised the shield. “Good starting intensity. Now add more power to it. Pull from your core, slowly and if you can feel the magic around you draw strength from that.”
I did as she instructed and pulled just a bit more from my core and watched stronger flames join the shield. While I could feel other magic around me, I wasn’t able to grasp it. Ignoring that, I continued to let my shield build up its strength from within myself.
“Now, when you release your shield I don’t want you to let
it go. Instead, bring it back in slowly.” She stressed her words carefully. “If you let it go, you’re just draining yourself and making your core have to recharge. Bring it back in and you’ll have more energy to keep going.”
Again, I did as she directed and felt the difference immediately. When I had tried to help Zarek I had felt instantly drained and had blacked out. This time around, I only felt a little winded. “That’s...” Words failed me. It was an awe inspiring moment to not have my magic drain me to the point of blacking out. I couldn’t help but to wonder why Lee hadn’t at least mentioned this person before. She was wonderful to work with.
“Less hard on your head too, I bet.” Jamie winked, “Okay. Let’s try sadness. This curse sucks, and it’s never fun bringing that feeling to the front, but you can control it now.”
Sighing, I could pull this emotion without effort. Thinking of my mother’s death was enough to pull the feeling to my core, but I added to it, remembering the empty feeling I had endured when I had thought Lee was gone and when my siblings had died twice before my eyes. When I felt it start to ache within me I pulled the magic into a shield. Opening my eyes I saw that the flame looked different. While I could feel that it was not attacking Jamie who was sitting so close nearby, I also felt it was weaker.
“This may be able to do damage without killing,” I was astounded that it might even be a viable option.
“Correct,” Jamir stood up to walk around me. “Emotions are so important. Controlling what you feel at all times can make all the difference in any given situation.”
“Now, don’t pull away from that feeling. Switch back to the joy you had felt before. Pull from that and strengthen your shield.”
As I did as she instructed I felt the magic charge, turning from soft embers to full flames.
“Very good!” She cheered me on. “Now this time bring it in, but a little quicker. Don’t take it in all at once, but you can start to speed up the process. As you adjust to it, you can go faster and faster, but never do it all at once or you could knock yourself out,” She warned me. I sensed the warning came from her own experience.
