by B. T. Narro
“What do you mean by grabbed, exactly?” Leon was hinting at something.
“I mean it moved around the boot to enclose it.”
“Like the way a baby might instinctively grab a finger?” he asked. “Or more like the way a flytrap might close around a fly? What did it feel like?”
“Like a flytrap,” I answered. “Like it wanted to trap the boot.”
“It probably did,” Leon said.
“G for grab and D for density; that’s convenient,” Charlie commented.
“It’s almost as if the sorcerers who designed the language knew what they were doing,” Leon said sarcastically.
“Wait, I think they did know,” Charlie said.
“That’s what I’m saying, Charlie,” Leon explained.
“Oh.”
“I was right in my prediction,” Leon said. “Which I’m sure you remember, Charlie.”
“But it still doesn’t make sense. Why don’t the erto spells, which all have a variation of G, grab anything?”
“Because one G isn’t enough to tell the mana to grab. But remember what happens if you try to cast, say, Water with only C and E. The spell has no consistency. It’s impossible to hold the water together.”
Leon raised both arms out from his chest. A large globe of water grew out of nothing but quickly spread apart from itself, small globules floating away from each other.
“See?” Leon said as he let the water drop. “Even I can’t hold it together without G. That single note tells the mana to grab itself, at least a little.” Leon raised an eyebrow at me. “So this is how—”
“Dark mages are able to grab people,” I finished the sentence for him.
“Exactly. They must add at least uG to their spell of Dislodge. Some might even be adding a second octave, Middle G, most likely, because it’s not normally part of the spell.”
“But uG is a very high frequency,” I said. “Wouldn’t it be unlikely for more than one sorcerer to reach it? The large dark mage who attacked me the other day also grabbed me.”
“Didn’t I explain to you that most of the powerful sorcerers turn to dteria? It’s not unlikely at all. You’re missing the bigger point here. Now you can learn how to grab.”
That was true. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought if I didn’t have to aim my energy precisely around someone’s body. I just had to direct the cluster at someone, so long as I added Middle G. Expel already had Upper G as part of the spell, probably to hold the energy together just like Leon had demonstrated with the spell of Water.
I gasped as I realized I should be able to cast it right now. I already knew how to use spells with G.
I figured I might mentally slip trying to work the note into Expel, but I had to at least attempt it before we all retired to the apartments.
“Eden, can I try to lift you?”
She scowled at me. “Why me?”
“Because you’re the smallest.”
“What about Remi?”
“I’m heavier than you,” Remi said matter-of-factly. “And a little taller.”
“You can’t be much heavier than me.”
“I am.” Remi pulled up the sleeve of her arm, flexed her muscle, and slapped it with her other hand. “All those years you were cutting hair I was working.”
Many of us laughed. It wasn’t that the act itself was utterly hilarious. It was just witnessing Remi tease Eden with such confidence and Eden’s face of shock when Remi was done.
“Fine, if you must, Jon,” Eden said with defeat, then extended her thin arms, making me realize how right Remi was. It was a good thing she wouldn’t have to fight with sword anytime soon.
“Jon,” Leon said with a warning tone. “You have enough in you to heal after this?”
“I do.”
Eden dropped her arms. “Now why would you ask that!”
“Just making sure,” Leon said. “Go ahead, Jon. Last spell for tonight.”
Eden took on a nervous look as she slowly lifted her arms again, allowing me an easier time to wrap my energy around her petite body.
This should be easy. I just had to add G to the spell I had casted over a thousand times by now.
I hadn’t attempted any five-note spell, though, and I was feeling the pressure of performing it quickly with everyone watching.
I knew as soon as I casted it that something went horribly wrong. My mind lost control as I tried to push out all five notes at once. I tried to regain control as I felt one or maybe two of the notes change frequency, but all I did was make it worse. It was like a cup falling and shattering against the ground because I smacked it rather than grabbed it.
I didn’t know exactly what happened, but the dvinia struck me in the stomach hard enough to take my breath away.
On hands and knees, I gasped for air. I wanted to heal myself, but I couldn’t do it until I had my breath back.
As it slowly returned, I lifted my head to see Eden nursing her wrist as she sat up from the ground.
“What the hell, Jon?” she said as she looked to be in considerable pain.
“Are you all right?”
“No, you made me break my wrist when I fell!”
Leon commented, “I’m sure it’s not broken. Here.” He crouched over her and put his hands around it.
Eden let out a piercing scream as he began to heal. Leon covered his ears and fell away from her.
“Airinold’s taint!” he yelled. “Dammit, Eden!”
“That hurts so damn much!”
“It needs to hurt for me to heal you,” he explained. “And it’s not broken.”
“What happened?” I asked as I got up. “I couldn’t see the spell.”
Michael answered. “With dvinia being clear, it was difficult for us to tell too.”
“Only because you weren’t struck,” Aliana said as she rubbed her shoulder. “Your spell exploded, Jon.”
“You must’ve used a rev,” Leon explained. “Eden, do you want me to heal you or not?”
“Would it hurt less if Jon did it?”
“No,” Leon and I answered at the same time.
“Don’t be a child about it,” Leon added. “It’s just a little pain.”
Eden looked around. “Give me something to bite on.”
“Don’t be such a daisy.” Leon crouched over and put his hands around her wrist again. He looked right into her eyes. “If you scream again, then this will be the last time anyone heals you. I don’t care if you’re bleeding to death.”
“That’s why I need something to bite on.”
“Three, two, one.”
Eden tensed and gritted her teeth, then she squeaked as she squirmed.
It was over a moment later, Leon putting his palm on the ground as he caught his breath. I had forgotten just how much energy it took to heal when only two notes of F were used.
I needed to be more thankful about having such a wide range. I still wondered if it had come to me naturally or if it was because I had spent so much time playing with my mana when I’d first discovered it.
“I’m sorry, all,” I said. “Anyone else need healing?” I looked at Aliana.
“No, I’m fine.”
“How did you mess that up so badly?” Eden asked with a scowl.
“My grasp on my mana slipped as I tried to cast. I’ve never used five notes before.”
“It’s normal to accidentally use a rev when adding on notes,” Leon said. “I’m surprised it hasn’t happened to you already. Most of the others have hurt themselves while casting.”
I noticed Michael, Remi, and even Kataleya nodding. I guess Leon must’ve healed them.
“A rev is the only way to reach certain levels of power,” Leon said. “But that also makes them dangerous. One day you should be able to incorporate revs into your spellcasting, but not for a while. I hope you don’t need me to tell you this: Don’t experiment with them. Wait until you think you are ready and then come to me.”
“You knew this might happen?”
“So you should be the one apologizing to me,” Eden complained.
“Sorry we all learned something,” he said sarcastically. “Jon, you should practice that spell on yourself first, because Eden is too much of a daisy to tolerate even a little pain.”
“A little!?” she said. “Never mind.” She folded her arms. “It’s pointless to complain to you about anything.”
“Ah, the sweetest thing to an instructor’s ears,” he said. “Let’s call it a day. I hope you enjoyed a day off, finally, Michael. You won’t have another for a while.”
“Oh come on. That wasn’t a—”
“Remember what Eden said,” Leon interrupted. “It’s pointless to complain.”
“Damn, that’s true.”
Leon wore a victorious grin. “I have a feeling things are going to go a lot more smoothly from now on. Thank you, Eden, for helping everyone realize something they should’ve realized a long time ago. Kataleya, it’s finally time we start working on fire with you.”
“But I want to focus on water for a while longer.”
“Didn’t you hear?” He gestured at Eden.
She put her hands on her hips. “Let me rephrase so it’s not a complaint. You can’t force me to start learning fire.”
Leon opened his mouth but nothing came out. He closed it again.
Looks like things are not going to go so smoothly after all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The next day, Charlie wanted me to keep experimenting. The next note to test as octaves was A: specifically lA, A, and uA. Not even Leon had a clue what A added to spells. He had told Charlie it probably wouldn’t be very useful, as there were no spells he knew of that used A, so experimenting with it was a low priority.
I was shocked that Leon didn’t know of a single spell with A. I had to admit to Charlie that I was curious like he was as to what it might do, but I had no practice with any octave of A. It would probably take me at least a few days just to cast the spell one time, and I needed a break from learning new notes. I still had to practice the notes I’d learned the day before. One in particular, G, would be incredibly useful and might even save my life.
At least Charlie understood after I explained all this to him. Besides, he had a lot to work with from what we’d discovered yesterday. I didn’t know what that was exactly, maybe spell composition of some kind, but I didn’t need to ask. I was sure I’d find out when he was done. He left me to practice on my own in the courtyard.
I was accompanied by Aliana and the usual erto mages: Michael, Kataleya, and Remi. I could almost feel everyone’s annoyance at another full day of training ahead. No, I could see it from Michael’s reluctance to start his windy spells as he leaned against the apartments and read a scroll, to Aliana’s chatting with Kat near the target where she was usually shooting arrows. Even Remi looked as if she wasn’t looking forward to the long hours of training ahead, as she took up some water from the well and relaxed as she drank.
I had gotten used to the idea of Kataleya letting her excess water fall into the well during her practicing. All of us had drunk from that well at some point. We’d all allowed Kataleya’s water to sustain us.
I was beginning to think less and less that she was using her charm to manipulate me. Remi seemed the most likely to be the traitor, if I had to pick someone right now. I didn’t know how she would’ve come into contact with a noble, like Kataleya’s father or this Luther Prigg, but maybe they found her.
Aliana was next on my list. I couldn’t forget what Kataleya had said about Luther possibly being Aliana’s father. She had asked Barrett two nights ago, when she was coming off her curse, why Barrett wouldn’t tell her what he’d asked her mother. What had happened with Gwen Forrester? I could only assume it wasn’t good, otherwise Aliana would’ve been informed by now.
Letting that go for the moment, I set my mind on my task. I would learn how to grab people today. Hopefully I could practice on myself, as Leon had implied, and then safely test it on others later.
It didn’t take long, unfortunately, for me to realize that it was a lot harder to practice on myself than on anyone or even anything else. Telling dvinia to grab me was not like telling my mana to heal me. It was awkward and unintuitive, like trying to use my sword with my left hand. I couldn’t just target my waist, think about what I wanted my mana to do, and cast the five notes. I had to really pinpoint where it was to touch my body, then focus on how it would spread, and lastly, what it should do after. All of this trouble came from my mana not wanting to hurt me and needing some extra encouragement.
I went into the apartments and searched through my room. I needed something I could practice grabbing. Everything was too nice, downright fancy, even. I didn’t want to take my wooden chest into the courtyard, nor the bedside table. Not only would they get dirty, but they would likely suffer damage when they dropped and hit ground. There had to be something in this castle that no one would mind chipping or scratching, something that could stand upright.
There was no point in looking through the great hall. I had a better idea. I went to visit the princess in the keep.
On the third floor of the keep, Callie was with a tutor, a different woman than I had seen with her before. A guard was stationed outside Callie’s large room.
The princess and her tutor were not speaking when I stood in front of the door. Callie had her head in a book at her desk as her tutor wrote something on another desk. Neither noticed me, but the guard let me enter.
I knocked softly on the inner wall to her room. She looked over and flashed a smile.
“Jon.” She put down her book and walked over, her flowing dress billowing behind her.
“I’m sorry to disturb you,” I said, mostly for the sake of the tutor, as I knew Callie wanted as much disruption as possible. “I was wondering—”
“Let’s talk out here.” She started to lead me out of the room.
“Princess,” the tutor scolded.
“I’ve just reread the same line five times. I need a break!”
She didn’t wait for the tutor to reply. I stopped and lowered my head in a quick bow to the tutor—she did not look pleased—before following Callie out.
“I just wanted to ask you something quick,” I said as she took me down the stairs. “Where are we going?”
“I want to be outside with the other sorcerers. I always look down at the courtyard and wish I could be there. I believe I’m going to start taking my recesses there, if you would talk with me when I do?”
I had to be careful in every interaction with the princess, keeping in mind how it might look to others. I supposed a conversation here and there could lead to some teasing, but I’d dealt with plenty of teasing already.
“Sure I would.”
“Good.”
She hummed to herself, seemingly comfortable in the silence, which in turn made me comfortable.
We arrived in the courtyard. She looked like she’d been stuck inside for days straight, the way she breathed in the air deeply.
“Stay close to the keep,” she said. “I don’t want my father seeing that I’m out here.”
“Won’t he find out from your tutor anyway?”
“Yes, and he can lecture me then. If he sees me now, he will force me to return. What did you want to speak about? Or did you just come to see me?”
“I need your help.”
She lost her smile. “I hope it’s not something like before.”
She was referring to how I’d asked her to help me deceive her father into sending an army into Curdith Forest.
“No, never anything like that again. I’m just looking for an item in the castle that I can use for practice. It needs to be something that can stand on its own, and it should be about the width of a person. Height shouldn’t matter as long as it’s not very heavy. It’s likely to get damaged, though. That’s why I need your help find
ing something.”
“What kind of practice would you use it for?”
“I’m working on grabbing my enemies.”
“You mean our enemies. They want to kill my father, Jon.”
“Yes, our enemies.”
She hummed in thought. Checking around, I didn’t catch any of my peers staring. A few glanced over curiously, but there didn’t seem to be judgment in their gaze. Perhaps everyone finally knew that Callie and I were friends, nothing more.
“Oh, I know,” she said. “What about an old chair?”
I could wrap the dvinia around the backrest. “That would work.”
“Good, I know of one. I’ll have it brought to you as soon as possible. I’ll fetch a servant now as I’m sure you’re eager to get back to training.”
“You know me so well.”
She curtsied. I bowed.
Then she let out a sigh as we said a quick goodbye, and soon she was headed back into the keep.
It was in the quiet moments like these that my mind often went back to the fight with Henrik. I didn’t like thinking about any of it, but I had made mistakes. It was important to figure out what they were so as not to repeat them.
It was difficult, unfortunately, to think about much else besides the feeling of his dagger in my shoulder or how the crossbow bolt had shattered the bones in my hand. I almost didn’t realize I had sat on the well near Kataleya, until she was walking over to me.
“Did something happen?” she asked.
“No, just waiting for a chair to practice on.”
It didn’t seem that she believed me as she stood in front of me with a concerned look. “Has anyone told you that your face always conveys what you’re thinking?”
“I have not heard that, but it would make a lot of sense. I can’t often hide anything.”
“I don’t mean to intrude on your thoughts. Instead let me thank you for standing up for me when Eden and Aliana were cursed. I wish I could reciprocate, but I’m not sure what I could do. It seems that trouble keeps falling on you while none of us are there to help. I wish I could’ve been there one of those times.”
“The difficult situations I’ve found myself in are my fault,” I admitted. “I could’ve handled the close call at The Pearl much better.”
