by Walls, Devri
“The feelings that I had been feeling, they are,” she gulped, “yours.”
Emane’s head rose slowly, staring blankly at her. “What?”
Tears began welling in her eyes, “I knew you’d be upset… I told Eleana…”
“Stop, Kiora. I just need to process this for a second.” Emane looked at the floor while Kiora held her breath. “What feelings did you feel?”
“That something was not right, that you were worried and concerned.”
“That’s why you came, in the mine?”
“Yes. I told Eleana that I didn’t want to feel your feelings, but I guess this is common in…” she stopped. They still had not really defined what they even were, “…in a relationship, where magic is involved.” She watched Emane’s reaction, closely looking to see if he flinched at the word relationship. He did not.
“I see.” Emane leaned back in his chair. His head tilted to the side. “I don’t understand you sometimes, Kiora. If you were so scared to tell me, why did you?”
She cleared her throat. “I thought you deserved to know.”
“Alright,” he said slowly.
“And,” unable to look at him, she fixed her attention to her lap where she had clenched her hands together to tightly her knuckles had turned white. “When you told me you were fine. I felt...” she struggled for the words, “you’re not.”
A smile twisted at the corners of Emane’s mouth. “Really, what I am I then?”
“You’re afraid,” Kiora spoke softly, looking up through her lashes.
“How many of my feelings do you know?”
“Not many. Eleana said that I would only feel the strongest and most persistent of feelings. Don’t worry though,” she said hurriedly, “I can’t read your thoughts or anything.”
Emane stood up and grabbed her hand, “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“Back to our rooms.”
Kiora planted her feet and pulled her hand out of his grasp. “That’s it?” she demanded. “I tell you that I can feel your feelings and that I know you are afraid and you are just going to pretend I didn’t say anything?”
“No,” he shook his head stifling a laugh. “Kiora,” putting his hands on his hips Emane looked upward, shaking his head. “You haven’t been around many men have you?”
“What kind of questions in that?” she demanded.
“Look Kiora, I don’t think the same as you. I would like some time to process the information on the way back to our rooms,” he motioned to the door. “And if you don’t mind, you have just accused your Protector and Prince of being afraid. If it is alright with you, I would like to further discuss this matter in private. And since we are in a ‘relationship’ as you put it. I would like to hold my lady’s hand. He caught her eye, “If that is alright?”
Kiora’s cheeks flushed crimson, “Of course.”
Walking in silence, Emane helped her into the stone box and pulled them up the back of the falls. He held her hand as they walked back to their rooms. Opening the door to Kiora’s room, he escorted her inside. Silently turning, he closed the door walking over to the sofa. Without looking at her, he patted the seat next to him.
“Will you sit by me?”
Kiora walked over and sat down, “Did I overstep my bounds, downstairs?”
Emane laughed, “Of course you did, that’s what I like about you.”
“You like me because I have terrible manners and no idea of proper court etiquette?” she moaned. “The people are going to hate me when they finally learn who I am.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. They will love you because they will be able to see who you are.” Emane reached over and grabbed her hand. “Now, tell me what you felt downstairs.”
She looked into his eyes; they didn’t look angry. She was so sure he would be angry. “Fear.”
He nodded slowly, his thumb rubbing over the back of her hand. “I am afraid.”
“Of what?”
He was silent for a long time. “Of magic.”
“Magic, or your magic?”
Emane stood up and walked across the room. Leaning against the bed post with his back to her he asked, “Are you sure you can’t read my mind?” Kiora sat patiently, waiting for him to continue, hoping that he would. “I really thought that this would be easier if I had magic. But now… I am worried that I won’t be able to control it.”
She twitched, “Like me?”
He spun around, “You control yours just fine!”
“No I don’t, remember? Not always.”
Emane huffed, “That was an accident. You didn’t mean to hurt him.”
“That is what you are talking about isn’t it, accidents?”
Frowning, Emane paced to the door, then to the bed and back again. Leaning one arm against the door, his head drooped, hair falling in his face. Kiora’s fingers itched to brush it back for him.
“I suppose I am,” he admitted. “But I might have a lot of accidents. This magic is not natural to me; I am not supposed to have it. Who knows how my body is going to react to it?”
Kiora hated trying to have a conversation like this. “Why do you always have to have your back to me when we talk?”
“Come on, Kiora,” he said dropping his arm, swinging around to face her. “I am not beating the wall with a club, I thought I was making progress!”
She grinned, “That is true.” Pushing herself up, she walked over to him. “Emane, do you think that Eleana would let this happen if it was going to be a disaster?”
“I think Eleana would let me do it if there was a good chance that it would work.”
Looking up into Emane’s eyes, Kiora’s heart stuttered strangely in her chest, not with the old nerves but with a new excitement. Reaching out without worry, she brushed her finger along his jaw. He closed his eyes under her touch leaning into her. Raising her other hand she ran it along the other side of his face, trailing her finger over his cheekbones and down to his lips. His eyes flashed open and her breath stopped in her throat at the look in his eyes. It was deep and intense and right now she just wanted to drown in it. Pushing up on her toes she kissed him.
Chapter Fifteen
EMANE’S MAGIC
THE NEXT MORNING FOUND the two of them walking towards the falls on the way to Emane’s ceremony. Although they were late, Emane did not seem in a hurry to make up the time.
“I need you to promise me something, Kiora. If I ever, EVER, let this magic start to change me you will tell Eleana immediately and ask her to take it off.”
“Of course, but I won’t need to.”
“You can’t be sure!”
“Yes I can,” she said gently touching his arm, “because if you were going to allow this magic to change you, you would never have asked me in the first place.”
“I am glad you have such faith in me,” Emane said looking sidelong at her, “but I want you to promise.”
“Alright, I promise.”
When they reached the bottom of the falls, Drustan was waiting for them. “Nice of you to show up, Prince. I was beginning to wonder if you wanted this at all.”
“Patience is a virtue, Drustan,” Emane said.
Drustan’s lips pursed, obviously not amused. Kiora on the other hand had to cover her mouth with her hand, looking behind them to keep from laughing.
“Follow me,” Drustan said before turning down a passageway they had not been in before.
The passageway was lit by flaming torches hanging on the walls of stone. Emane turned to look at one as he walked past. They were fashioned of metal with nothing flammable on them. And yet there they were, burning.
“I don’t think I will ever get used to stuff like that,” he whispered to Kiora.
They walked until the passageway opened up, leaving them standing on the edge of a very large, very deep canyon. In front of them was a bridge that stretched from one side to the other. It was very old, and fashioned of wood and rope. Thin wood slats lined the bottom, tied to
gether with thick rope that then twisted itself around to make two sides. Kiora stopped dead in her tracks when she saw it. Drustan and Emane moved forward, grabbing the sides of rope, unaware she had stopped. The bridge creaked and popped in protest under their weight and Kiora took a step backwards. Her mouth was dry and her hands had turned to ice. She vaguely saw Emane stop and turn but all she was looking at was the rope swinging out over the deathly blackness.
“Kiora, come on!” he yelled, his voice rolling around the empty space beneath him.
She shook her head emphatically, holding her hands fisted at her side.
“Kiora, come on, we are late!”
She shook her head again, whimpering.
Making his way back across, he grabbed her hand. “Your hands are freezing!” he exclaimed. Lowering his head he tried to look in her eyes. “Kiora, what is the matter?”
“I don’t like bridges,” she whispered.
“What!”
“I don’t like bridges, especially rope bridges. They are high and scary and... and…” Tears formed in her eyes as she looked desperately back at him. “I don’t like bridges.”
“Kiora,” Emane looked to the bridge and back to her, “are you scared because it is too high?”
“Yes.” She tried to step back again but his hold on her wrist kept her in place
“You fly on Arturo all the time. That is much higher than this.”
“I trust Arturo, he wouldn’t let me fall. This, I don’t trust this.”
“Kiora, do you trust me?”
“Yes, I trust you, but–” she screamed as Emane picked her up and marched out over the bridge.
“Calm down! You said you trust me.”
“I said I trusted you!” she yelled at him. “You holding me does not make me trust this bridge!”
“Close your eyes then.”
Kiora moaned as she put her head onto his shoulder and tried not to listen to the bridge groaning at every step. “A magical place,” she complained. “They enchant the waterfall so that it isn’t too loud, and they still have this death trap of a bridge.”
Emane just laughed at her. “Alright, we’re across.” He set Kiora down and walked ahead of her still chuckling.
“It’s not funny,” she hissed at his back, her hands still shaking.
The passage narrowed again as they continued further into the earth. Torches burned, lighting circles, but left slivers eerily draped in shadow. They entered a room that was oddly ceremonial looking. It was perfectly round with torches surrounding the room in even intervals. There were ornate stone inlays under their feet. Red, green and blue gems glittered and shone in the floor creating intricate geometric patterns. In the center was a circle of red gems, and within that circle stood a large stone kettle on four squatty legs. The handle was made of iron and twisted and turned in a vine-like pattern. The room was bare except for the four high back chairs seated in a circle around the cauldron. Glittering as much as the floor, Eleana already sat in one chair, waiting for them.
Eleana stood, “Please,” she motioned with her hand, “have a seat.”
They all took their seats in hushed silence as Eleana began to speak, “We are here today to perform an ancient ceremony. The granting of magic to a non-magical person is a great honor and a very serious responsibility. It is only bestowed in the direst of circumstances and only to persons of the highest moral character. Prince Emane has proven that he is willing to give his life to the cause and is therefore worthy of this honor. Emane, before we proceed I need to make sure that this is what you want.”
He held tightly to the arms of his chair. “I want to save my kingdom, I want to protect Kiora, and I want to rid the land of the evil that threatens it. If the only way for me to accomplish these things is to do this, then I am sure.”
“Very well. The concerns that Drustan expressed earlier are very valid ones. There will be those who will wish to take this magic from you by any means necessary. There may be some that wish to betray you because of it. You will need to always be aware of those around you. You will need to rely on Kiora’s senses and instincts to keep you both out of harm’s way.”
“Will I be able to feel things, as she does?’ Emane asked.
Eleana’s eyes softened. “I am uncertain of what you will and will not be able to do. It will certainly amplify some of your natural abilities. Beyond that, it affects every person differently. Before you do this, you need to understand that you will be nothing like Kiora. I have told you numerous times that she is exceptional. In all of my years I have never seen anything or one like her. Not in all the wars.”
“Never?” Kiora’s eyes widened.
“Never. Arian was amazing but it took him years to master what you master in days.” Eleana turned her attention back to Emane, “It would be better if you had no expectations of what you will and will not be able to do.”
“I understand.”
“If you are ready, we will begin.” Eleana put her hand out and fire ignited underneath the kettle. The flames burned hot and high, licking the bottom. Eleana moved around the pot whispering words Kiora did not understand, incantations she had never heard. The fire responded turning from orange, to red and then nearly white, heat poured from it in waves. Kiora and Emane flattened themselves against the chair backs, as their skin grew blisteringly uncomfortable under the assault of magical flame. Kiora could not see the inside of the kettle, nor did she dare lean closer to look, but whatever was happening within was casting a green glow upwards, lighting the ceiling. Eleana’s whisperings ceased for only a second before she stretched her hand over the cauldron. Kiora could not understand how it was that Eleana could withstand the heat. More incantations followed as the green grew brighter, until with one final word it exploded outwards in a flash of light that engulfed Eleana entirely before pulling back into the kettle. The flames flickered up the sides, and then calmed themselves, returning to red, the heat also pulling itself back.
Eleana turned to Emane, handing him a very long handled stirring paddle.
“You must stir it Emane, this is the last step before I can extract it.”
***
Emane cautiously stood. He was sweating and he wasn’t sure if was from the heat alone, or his nerves. He swallowed hard before reaching for the paddle. Grasping it, he took it from Eleana. She nodded towards the kettle, urging him forward. Stepping up he looked in.
Within, molten rock now spun. The rock he had mined had been a dark grey. It was now transformed into a bright swirling mass of silver with waves of hypnotic green which undulated, looking nearly alive. The molten rock felt alive as well, pulling at him with a strange draw he had never felt before. He wondered momentarily if this was what magic felt like. Lifting the paddle, he looked back to Eleana, unsure of what she wanted him to do. She held out her hand, indicating that he should place the paddle inside. Slowly he lowered it down and began to stir. The melted magic responded, pulling together and creating one thick wave of green that swirled from the outermost edge into the center. It was a brilliant color, brighter than the clearest emerald. Embedded within were flecks that sparkled and shone like diamond dust. He was mesmerized, connected to it. Everything around him ceased to exist and it was just him and the draw of the magic. He didn’t realize he was walking closer to the flames until Eleana put her hand on his shoulder.
“That’s enough Emane, the connection has been made,” she said, gently pulling him away from the kettle. “Please remove your shirt.”
He stepped reluctantly backwards, looking longingly after what he knew was his, what he felt needed to be his. His fingers moved to unbutton his shirt, but he could not tear his eyes away from the contents of the kettle.
Turning her attention back to the task at hand, Eleana said, “This magic can only be separated from its encasement by old magic. A smile ghosted across Drustan’s lips at the mention of old magic, but was gone before it was noticed. “No amount of heat will remove it from its rock pairing. The next in
cantation is tricky, and important that it be said properly, please, I need all of you to stay very still, and very quiet.”
Eleana put both her hands over the rim and once again began speaking strange incantations under her breath that rose and fell in eerie rhythms. She was tense with concentration, her hand moving slowly back and forth over the kettle. There was a thick sucking sound, like a boot jerking free from heavy mud, and the sparkling green material, now free from the rock began to rise.
Emane’s heart was pounding wildly in his chest as the material slowly rose in a thick green ribbon, twisting and turning through the air. The top formed into the head of a snake, its mouth opened and stretched. It slithered through the air moving its way over to Emane. Emane knew in his head he should be nervous at the sight of this green snake moving towards him, but he wasn’t. The connection was too strong, he needed it. Reaching out to it, the snake paused at his fingers, its snout almost touching him. He ached for it. Sticking out its tongue it started slithering up his hand, its body still warm from the process. As is slid across his arm it sent tingling shivers through his spine that were so sharp they bordered on painful. Emane looked down fascinated, watching. The snake moved up his bicep, and then came up and around his shoulder and collarbone, and back down his arm. Moving over and under itself, knotting and twisting back again it created a tightly woven pattern on his upper arm and shoulder. Then the snake stopped moving, poised to swallow its tail.
“I need you to move your arm, Emane, it needs to be comfortable before I seal it,” Eleana said.
Emane lifted up his arm and rotated it in all directions, trying to look past the strange sensation and focus on the practicality of what he would be required to do while wearing it. “It’s preventing me from fully rotating my shoulder. That won’t work in a sword fight.”
Eleana moved over to Emane. Touching the snake in several places she whispered to it. In response the snake began jointing itself, creating flexible areas within its body.
“Try again.”
Emane raised his arm again and tested the rotation. It was comfortable. He could barely tell it was there at all. “It’s good.”
