by Pam Uphoff
Imde looked at them. "Umm, Deim? I thought the value of micromagifacturing was the ability to make very, very small things?"
"Oh it is. But this is a huge leap in power application. And range. This last one . . . well, it's pretty messy, but I did it from five meters away."
"Five . . . Deim, that's . . ." impossible . . . not useful for anything . . . "amazing."
Izzo nodded. "And you're just starting. I hope they send us home with exercises to work on for the next year."
A giggle. Imde cranked his head around. Rael had walked up behind him, Isakson beside her.
"A year, Izzo? It won't be that long before you're back wanting more."
"I'm a bureaucrat, damn it. I haven't got time to sit around enjoying the sun."
Isakson chuckled. "A good attitude, in part. Practice pulling more power for Speed, while fencing. Then start pulling it for different purposes. Bring your fencing gear tomorrow."
Imde thought back wistfully to the day two weeks ago when he could have said "no" to Presidential Director Urfa's invitation. I wouldn't have seen that picture. Wouldn't have known I could do Cool Speed. Would still think I was a mutant, a damaged priest that even Makkah didn't want. Wouldn't have known I was a Halfer—half Comet Fall mage.
And I don't know which parts of that mess is positive or negative.
All right. The Cool Speed is good. I'll trash the Department Head next time I catch him in the salle.
"Umm, I didn't bring my fencing gear."
Izzo shrugged. "I've got extra everything . . . I'll probably have flashbacks of loaning stuff to Endi Dewulfe. But if you lot are done with me for today, I'm going to drag my carcass home."
Deim nodded. "I spotted a pool behind the mansion . . . "
"Have at it." Rael giggled. "The President's out of town so I won't be able to provide you with a celebrity to swim with."
Deim exchanged glances with Imde. "Rael . . . you are a celebrity."
She giggled. "In that case, see you at the pool in half an hour."
The pool was a nice long rectangle, nothing fancy, four meters deep with a diving board. Imde was the first out, and took a deep breath of still warm air. Nice and quiet, a few birds chirping. He dipped a toe in the water. Warm in the summer sun. He shrugged. Better than no water at all. He dove off the board and coasted to the shallow end of the pool, kick turned and swam back to the deep end. Boosted himself out and sat on the edge. With the top layer mixed in, the water was pleasantly cool on his legs and he stretched, relaxing.
"Not as nice as a big breaker," He swept his arms down around and up. "Right there . . . "
He felt the surface of the water dropping as the center heaved up into a thick stormy mound.
He froze, arms uplifted.
Lowered his arms jerkily, and the column of water sank, roiled and splashed, dropped back into the pool, crashed into the sides and sloshed, rough and choppy.
Imde swallowed. Put his hands out flat. The water stilled.
"Well, that's new." Isn't it? All my friends say I have a talent for picking out the good days to surf, the right spots for the big waves . . . but that's just . . . I don't make the waves, do I?
"Hey, Imde, how's the water?" Deim strolled out, tossing a towel on a chair.
"Great . . . " He broke off to boggle at Rael, in a collection of round holes connected by scraps into something vaguely swimsuit shaped.
A laugh from behind them. Teez and Fues, in rather conservative one pieces.
Thank you. One Rael is all the World can take!
He was careful to not do anything with the pool water while Teez lived up to her nickname and Fuzzy decided to join the game.
Deim rolled her eyes. "Observe, Rael, the multitude of ways a brother can embarrass a sister."
"I think it's an effect of the Princess School. No men. Let the teachers out and look what happens."
Dinner turned into an al fresco buffet, as the sun set.
And after Rael and Deim departed . . . it got even more fun. He ignored the way the water in the pool sloshed around.
Chapter Nine
4 Yusef 1404 yp
Paris, One World
In the morning they got beaten up, fed, and downloaded text books.
"You'll have to study the theories of magic on your own. We're here to evaluate you and start some magic practice. Today," Tease was back to immaculate and in control of her class. "We will start with perception. Mainly because it's the least dangerous . . . "
Lecture.
Practice.
More lecture.
More exasperating practice.
Even more lecture.
"You really did a thorough job of blocking your magic." Fussy frowned down at him. But the hot sunshine just made him sweat.
"Well, I think that's all for today. Deim, Izzo, good job on the vision adjustments. You two men can now go poke swords at each other."
They ate lunch with the guards.
Weird. Never thought I'd just sit around chatting, watching the news, with the people who guard the president.
The news was . . . different names, same crimes, same idiot government . . . weather completely out of phase.
Imde popped open a map of Paris on his little screen. "Where's this 'Red Zone' your car jacker gang is supposed to be from?"
"Here." Izzo leaned to touch an area south of the Imperial District. "Old Town, the oldest parts of New Paris. Rundown, some parts are getting re-gentrified, but this area down here is slums. South southeast of the center. We're further south and a bit west."
Rael looked over his shoulder and tapped a spot. "My house is in the re-gentrifying part. Almost equidistant from Government House and Versalle. What's up?"
Imde gestured at his screen. "I've been reading the local news. I wondered where the Red Zone Raiders were from."
Izzo shrugged. "That's just speculation. Media hype. But the pattern of attacks is suggestive. Wretched carjacking robbers. I shouldn't resent the time spent training magically, because they . . . are not my problem, I'm an analyst now. But once a cop . . . "
One of the guards laughed. Uxmo or some such. "How long has it been since you were a cop, Izzo?"
"Too long!"
Smiles and laughs around.
Then to the gym to roll out mats for a proper salle.
Izzo was wickedly fast. Imde was hard put to defend himself despite a superior reach, barely got any hits in, lost his cool and . . . learned that he wasn't nearly as good when he was angry.
He saluted Izzo, and staggered back sweating as he got himself back under control.
"One damn you're fast. And cool all the way. I have got to get better at that."
Izzo chuckled. "And pulling power."
Imde nodded. How I felt yesterday. And the pool cooled down . . . "I think I'm doing something wrong. I wonder if it's that mage gene?" And I need to decide what I want to do, before I cross some threshold where I can't go back to what I love.
When Izzo decided to work for a few hours, Imde headed for the swimming pool.
This time he paid attention.
Warm water cooling as he felt revived. Calming rough waters after he cannonballed into the pool, and he felt even more energetic. Lifting water drained his energy.
The sunshine over the pool? Zero, nada, sifr. No energy to be had.
He could shift water by the hundreds of liters, but could barely stir a fallen leaf.
He stared down at the water
I want to go home and forget all this.
***
Another day of Speed lessons, sweating in the sun, lectures about magic.
Lunch in the barracks again.
I should talk to Fues about the water. Really. Or at least Rael. Oh, dammit. They need to know about Fallen magic. And I'm probably doing it.
Imde turned on his comp and flipped through a news site. More articles, and faster to read about it than listen to Newsies. Imperial news, news from other worlds. Not my problem. Local news, fashion
. Ha! A game page. Imde paused a moment, flicked to sports . . .
"Not going to try and solve them?" Uxmo was eyeing him. Pushing? Testing?
"Already did. No need to write it out."
Skeptical eyebrow. "Earlier today?"
"Just now. Math is easy, and I see patterns."
Crossed arms, disbelief.
Imde clicked back a page, took out his stylus and wrote in all the numbers for all three puzzles. Left to right, down the page. "Numbers are my bitch."
Izzo laughed. "Careful, or we'll put you to work looking at . . . hmm, looking for patterns . . . "
Izzo brought out his own comp. "Look at this map of the carjackings. Dates, times, places . . . "
"All grocery stores. All mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Is that a busy or a quiet time of day?"
"Quiet. Mostly moms doing their shopping while the kids are at school. An energy surge to zap the security cams, a stun spell. Take purse, jewelry, vehicle. Leave. Most of the victims are women, but there have been no rapes, and so far, no deaths. The cars are always this year's model of something upscale common and popular."
Imde nodded. "So they're hitting the nice areas around this Red Zone of yours? Back and forth, north and south, then reverse the pattern but not hitting the same stores. If they're being consistent, they'll hit up here somewhere. Today or tomorrow."
"Did you just spot a pattern that easily?" Izzo glanced at his watch. "Today's window is nearly closed. Want to take a drive?"
Deim crossed her arms and glowered. "Remember that you're not a cop, Imde. And never were."
He looked around innocently. "Oh? Maybe you should come with us. Anyone have a new popular model car we could use?"
Major Eppa rolled his eyes—and authorized the use of a new "plainclothes" vehicle that apparently served as transport for an invisible outer perimeter when the president was on the move.
Deim sniffed at their first target. "It's too pretty, with the little sitting area and pond outside the Chinese restaurant."
Izzo, ducked down in the passenger seat, snorted. "But the entrance to the grocery store is right there. Is there anyone else in the parking lot?"
"A woman putting a baby into a stroller . . . no one else."
Imde was under a blanket in the rear. "Park and check your hair in the mirror or something until she's out of sight."
"Don't be bossy."
The car turned and stopped. He could hear a rustling from the front. A few clicks. Then Deim turned the car off and got out. Presumably following orders to hold onto the open car door "for balance" while she fiddled with a shoe. And for Izzo to slide out, being as unnoticeable as he was capable.
Anyone using electronic surveillance would see him, of course. The door closed.
Drat. And I can't even sneak a peek.
The click, click, click of his sister's high heels . . . A soft thump. Running feet. Not heels.
Oh. My. One!
Imde eased back the blanket and reached for the door handle.
Cursing outside. A cacophony of voices. Izzo's raised tones. "Freeze! You are under arrest . . . shit!"
Imde scrambled out of the car.
Four men, one holding the limp Deim between them and Izzo.
Quick visual sweep . . . no one else.
I should have gotten a stunner or something . . .
To his left the little sitting area, the pond.
Full of nice warm water.
Further away than he'd ever tried . . . he grabbed hard and pulled the water to him, up, and dumped it over the quartet.
It smashed them flat, and Izzo leaped in to keep them down, while Imde grabbed his sister and pulled her away.
Limp, wet . . . slow steady breathing. He carried her over to the shade beside the nearly empty pond and set her down on the grass. Walked back to where Izzo was just clicking off his comm.
"Police are on the way." Izzo was looking a bit bemused. "Imde, did you throw a koi pond at them?"
Imde looked at the mess. "More dropped it on them, I think."
"Interesting technique."
They both looked down at a fish flopping on the pavement.
"They're rather expensive fish aren't they?" Imde winced.
"So I've heard."
Imde bit his lip, then sort of mentally scooped up the water and the stuff in it—pondweed, fish, snails, some stunned frogs trying to hop away—and shepherded it all back into the pond. Well, half of it. Lost a lot of water. A quick search turned up a faucet and hose in the landscaping and he turned it on. Thought hard about pulling all the impurities out of the water. Some greasy mud crawled out of the pond in a disturbingly life-like manner and he sent it off to a drain. Then he circled the parking lot and rescued three more fish.
Deim was blinking and trying to sit up. He helped her into a chair.
"What . . . what . . . how did I get wet?" Her fingers combed through her dripping hair. "What . . . Ewww!"
Imde took the little fish from her and dropped it into the water.
***
Fortunately the on-site evidence collection took long enough to refill the pond. Imde spotted a few colorful fish swimming around. Turned off the faucet and coiled the hose.
He glanced at Izzo. "I'm probably going to be sued for however many fish didn't survive their flying lessons."
Izzo grinned. "So you're a worse flying instructor than Rael? But then I suppose I ought to factor in the quality of the students."
Back at Versalle, Imde sought the pool . . . and wished himself at the beach.
Soft footsteps.
"Problem?" Rael walked up, still dressed for the office.
"I like being a teacher. Yeah, it's a small campus of the Regional University. But it's a beautiful part of the world. I like the youthfulness and energy of a college campus. I like the proximity of the beach for surfing. I . . . am being pulled out of my comfortable place. What if I can't get back into it?"
"Learning magic shouldn't change much."
"Learning that I've been using magic for years, subconsciously, is unsettling."
She eyed him. "Tease and Fussy appear to be butting their heads on your block. But you think you're doing it subconsciously?"
Imde stared down into the clear water. "They're trying to teach me like they'd teach a Oner. But I think I source from water. I don't know why heat from water should be different from the heat in air . . . and why I can move water, and not a stupid leaf."
"You can move water?"
"It's probably why I'm such a good surfer." He kept his hands still and reached out mentally to lift a couple of liters of water. He formed a sphere and tossed it across the pool. "I just want to go home and ride the waves."
"You can leave anytime."
He sighed. "But you need to know more about their magic. So here I am. Guinea Pig Number Three."
"If you want to be."
"Duty calls and all that. I'll talk to Teez and Fues tomorrow morning."
"And if you end up in Paris very often—we do just happen to have a corridor to Hawaii. I hear the surfing's good."
Chapter Ten
6 Yusef 1404 yp
Paris, One World
Imde shook his head. "No. I simply don't get any power from the sunlight. But I've been experimenting and I think I can do it with water."
Fues looked indignant . . . then thoughtful. "Come with me."
The barracks' big commercial kitchen's water pipes had lots of water pressure behind them. Imde put his hands under the gushing faucet and felt the power, filled up on energy . . .
Fues cut the water. "Right. Now let's head for the junkyard and see what you can do with it."
Very little.
Until Rael showed up with the hose and he made the water do all sorts of interesting things. And everyone started chiming in with ideas.
"Try a microscopically thin stream, with lots of water pressure behind it. See what you can put holes in." Izzo grinned, and dropped his voice. "No koi ponds today, eh?"
/> "Kindness to little fishies." Imde gave up on looking serious and grinned as he put a pinpoint hole through centimeter of steel.
***
"Isakson wants to spar with us?" Imde swapped anxious glances with Deim.
The old man was careful to not hurt them, but no matter how fast he got, how cool he stayed, Isakson was faster and better.
Isakson shrugged. "They're fast enough. Not aggressive at all. Pity."
Rael giggled and congratulated them on their survival.
Got her own glower from the old man, and a round on the mat that had Imde sweating in terror at the speed, the skill, the blows to head and neck . . .
It was actually a relief to go outside and watch her try to kill herself figuring out how to steer, how to reestablish a kite string after gliding around . . . flubbing another landing.
"Ow!" Rael sat up, rotated her right shoulder, winced as she flexed her wrist. Both palms skinned, again. "There's got to be a better way to do the landings."
They all migrated to the pool, where Tease challenged him to a magic water fight that wound up with him on one side and the four women on the other.
He won with a finishing attack that involved lifting all the water in the pool, women included, and dumping it on the patio.
Rael was laughing, not even bothering to get up off the wet concrete. Tease and Fussy exchanged glances as they helped each other up. "We need to find more Oner men with that Mage gene and see if they can all do things like this."
Deim leaned and stage whispered to Rael, "Teachers' pet."
Imde sniffed and got out of the way of the bemused staff as they showed up with hoses. No Deim, the petting comes later.
***
The last day Tease challenged him to think about the water vapor in the air, that the heat in the air put power into, to vaporize, and could he pull that power out?
A faint fog, the dew forming on his hands.
"Good, now put the water back into the air. Good. Again."
