I counted to three and gave up. At least she had given me something. “Nice to meet you, Asrhia, call me Bri.”
I lowered my gaze to the book again. “Show me the next spell I must learn.” I saw the pages flip quickly and settle on a new one.
“I knew you would swiftly figure out how to communicate with the Spioradálta Iris,” She said, her voice sounded almost proud, but I ignored her.
“Adhair Bhalla”—Air Fortress,” I read aloud.
“Hhhmm. Interesting,” Asrhia said, staring at the journal.
“What is it? Do you know this spell?”
“I cannot say.” I sighed. “Try it. Let us see what it does.”
“I don’t know why I even ask.”
“Bho mo smior gus leatsa mi a 'faighneachd an-diugh,
Leig adhar cruth-a…”
I stopped not recognizing the word. I had no idea how to pronounce it.
“Leig adhar cruth-a tharr…”
* * *
“Read it in your own language, Bri. Remember, the Iris will comply with your requests. You need not struggle to understand it.”
I looked at the shadow of her face and back to the journal. “I can’t understand. Please help me read it.” The words shimmered and transformed. Suddenly the text was written in English. I smiled, amazed and began to read out loud.
* * *
From my essence to yours I ask today.
Let the air transform and become a mist over me.
May it provide cover from preying eyes,
And follow my every movement.
The air and I are one. The mist and I are one
I am its essence, I am the fortress, and I command it.
* * *
Ok, this sounds kind of ominous…
Taking a deep breath, I began repeating it.
* * *
“From my essence to yours I ask...”
* * *
“That is not necessary, High Priestess,” Asrhia said, interrupting me.
I stopped and raised my gaze towards her. “What do you mean? I'm learning it so I can try it. I can't read it from the book when I do. It doesn't work well. I have to memorize it first like Cyn does. He knows them by heart.”
She shook her head. “The High Priest knows the spells because he has been reading the iris for centuries. He does not necessitate memory. It is merely a gesture of respect to how he was taught, and his mentor. Spells were created for Druids. Their control of elemental power is unique. Nevertheless, it is limited. Unlike you or the High Priest, Druids are required to invoke the magic, ask nature for help, but that is something you do not need. Magic is part of you. It resides in your essence. There is no need for you to memorize the spell, you must only understand it and visualize it, then let the magic inside you connect with the elemental essence, and the enchantment will come to pass. You may also reduce the spell to a single word if you wish, and the power inside you will do the rest.”
I stared at her perplexed. “Are you serious?”
She nodded. “Such is your power.” She motioned for the journal. “What does that spell mean to you?”
I frowned and thought about it for a moment. “Protection.” She nodded, and I swore I could see a smile through the darkness of the hood. “Ok, I want to try it.” She nodded encouragingly. My gaze focused on the words one last time, and I took a couple of steps back. Closing my eyes, I lifted my hands and imagined the air around me becoming white like smoke. It moved over the ground, covering my feet and sliddered upwards forming a real wall that extended over me. No. That didn't seem right. A fortress was more than a wall.
“Transform.”
The white mist moved in my mind's eye, swirling and slithering along an invisible surface as it wrapped all around me, creating a cylindrical refuge. The air shifted once again becoming thick, like a barrier and hiding me completely. When my eyes opened I gasped. My vision had a grey hue. I blinked and noticed the fog stood like a curved wall a couple of feet from me. It was as thick as I had imagined it and I couldn't see a thing on the other side. It was wrapped all around me. I turned, letting my fingers touch the surface. My eyes widened, it was so dense my hands couldn't go through it, yet the smoke that came from it still swirled inside it. It was as though there was a resistance from the air itself, pushing my hand and stopping it from going through.
“Are you still there?” I asked Asrhia, not being able to see her.
“I remain where you have left me.” Her voice had a tinge of wonder in it.
An idea crossed my mind. “À sealladh”—Disappear.
The fog shimmered, and it became almost invisible. It was hazy, so I was sure it was still there, except now I could see Asrhia on the other side and the rest of the waterfall.
“Can you see me?”
“No. I cannot.”
I smiled. I had made it invisible by combining it with Cyn’s Invisibility spell. “What do you see?”
“A moment ago I was looking at a thick white mist cylinder. It came from the ground and wrapped around you. However, there is nothing there anymore. The place where you stood is empty. It is gone, and so are you.”
But I could see her. “I’m still here. Reach for it and try to touch it.”
“I am not able. There is resistance. My hand cannot go through it. It is as though the air is pushing it back.”
This was really, neat. I walked a few steps, and the "Air Fortress" moved with me, but it was really awkward to walk inside a tube of white smoke. I wondered how many more spells I could apply to it. Closing my eyes, I visualized it shifting its shape.
“Cheangal riumsa”— Bind to me.
The size of the fortress reduced, coming closer and closer until it was like a second skin. It was so close to my face I felt like I was suffocating. Its form changed in my mind's eye, leaving my head uncovered but encasing the rest of me like a suit. Then I felt it, the force of the air moving around me. It was like a film made of a centrifugal force covered me, except I was its center. The air moved over my body so fast it was barely visibly. So powerful it made my skin vibrate.
Asrhia gasped and stepped backwards. “I can see you again!”
I looked at my body and realized that once I had uncovered my head, I had become visible to her, except the fortress remained invisible. The white fog seemed gone, but I knew it was there. I could feel it.
“Punch me.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Punch me! Kick me, anything. Try to hurt me in any way.” She looked seriously concerned. “Come on! What are you, Chicken??” That got her going. Her fist moved fast, but the second it should have connected with my stomach her hand flew back. She stumbled backwards from the force and fell on the grass.
“Crapola!” I didn’t think she would get hurt. “Sìoladh”—recede. I said, and the fortress disappeared. I realized, to my dismay, she was still on the ground, not moving. Had she hit her head with the fall? "Damn it!" I rushed to her, kneeling on the grass and turned her around. I gasped. The hood had fallen, and I could see her face. She cringed and sat up slowly. Her hand went to her forehead.
“I am all right. I did not hit myself. I am just dizzy from the fall.”
I sighed relieved and looked at her, admiring every detail of her face. She was beautiful and young, maybe sixteen or seventeen years old. Her hair was long and wavy, with a rich cinnamon brown color. Her skin a soft creamy peach tone, with plump and perfectly heart shaped lips, just like I had seen the first day she came. A small pinched nose, high cheekbones, and what Lia called natural sophisticated eyebrows adorned her face. Her eyes were beautifully big like a manga character and a dark shade of green. Full lashes completed the look.
“Ok. Get up. Nothing happened, so no rest for you. We need to keep practicing. That is what you came here for, right? To help me understand and master my type of magic?”
She nodded and took my hand, letting me help her up. I briefly wondered if Asrhia had hidden her face from me, thinking I wouldn’t take her ser
iously because she was so young. She wiped her face, pushed her hair back and gasped, realizing her hood was down. Her eyes filled with alarm as she looked at me and she turned around.
“Daingead!” She cursed, and raised the hood on her head once again.
I chuckled but instantly felt bad. “Hey, it's ok, Asrhia. I don't care that you are young. You came here to help me, and you have already done much more than you can imagine. In the past few days I have learned a lot thanks to you, and judging by how secretive you are I can only assume that you are risking a lot deal to help.”
“Only my life…” She murmured, so low I wasn’t sure I heard her right.
“I appreciate what you are doing, Asrhia, I truly do, and I promise that I won’t tell anybody. Not even Cyn.” I placed my hand on her shoulder and slowly turned her back around.
“Ok.” She said simply, but her gaze was low and troubled. She didn’t want to look at me directly. I could tell she was really worried about this. She looked at me like she was trying to figure something out then took a deep breath. Finally making a decision, she lowered the hood of her robe and raised her head fully uncovered. I smiled. “But please do not touch me. We must not touch, High Priestess.”
I removed my hand from her. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” I sat on the boulder and took the journal. “Should we continue? Do you want me to try another spell?”
She nodded and stepped closer. “I believe the time has come for you to find your Sleagh an t-Solais, High Priestess.”
I repeated the name in my mind, trying to figure out what it meant. I didn’t have an answer. “What does that mean?”
She smiled, and her eyes twinkled with excitement. “Spear of Light.”
LIA
* * *
“Hello, hello! Is anybody here?”
I asked in a singsong voice, walking into Cathair’s hut. More like barging into his hut, but whatever, people knew I was here they needed to get used to me. Although, once I entered I realized I should have knocked, I was definitely not prepared for the image that greeted me. Cathair was lying down in bed, shirtless, with the linen pants the guys usually wore for bed here. They rode way too low on his hips. His left arm was up, covering his face. I was temporarily hypnotized by the image. I mean his abs could go on for days. Was he sleeping? I should probably leave. I thought, and proceeded to do exactly the opposite. So what if he was asleep? It was freaking four in the afternoon, Art and Cyn had disappeared to God knows where, like they had done everyday for like two weeks. Bri was practicing spells somewhere I wasn't allowed to know, Seima was training with the other women Warriors, and I was bored out of my mind. If that meant he needed to wake his ass up and entertain me, so be it.
I walked to the bed and leaned over him slowly. I tried to peak over his arms to see if he was actually asleep. I mean he hadn't answered so he must be asleep, but then again he looked like he wasn't even breathing, so that concerned me.
“Arrrgg!”
“Aaahh!” I screamed at the top of my lungs and stumbled back. Cathair sat on the bed laughing so hard he was crying. “You ass!! You almost gave me a heart attack!”
He laughed even harder and stood. “It serves you right for walking into my home, unannounced and uninvited.”
I gasped. “Uninvited? How dare you?”
He chuckled avoiding my punch; it was going straight to his left shoulder. “I was warned about you, you know? You walk into everyone’s hut without knocking, hoping to catch them in a compromising position for your pure amusement. Not very nice, may I add.” He said, serving himself a glass of ale. “Want some?” He lifted the glass. I nodded. He handed me his and served another one. “Yet, there was one aspect you did not account for.”
I raised an eyebrow. I had outsmarted almost every single Warrior. My record was impeccable. “Oh yeah, and what is that?”
He smirked. “I knew you were coming.”
My mouth dropped. That was absurd. I hadn't told anybody! Not even Art when he said goodbye this morning. In fact, I hadn't even known I'd be coming to his hut until like thirty minutes ago when I decided I would probably pass out of boredom today. "Not possible," I said, challenging him. I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my right foot on the ground.
He smirked. “Oh, but it is.” He looked around us conspiratorially. “Are you able to safeguard my secret?” I nodded, suddenly intrigued. “I have a special gift.”
My eyes widened. He had powers too? “What is it?”
He leaned in even closer to me. “A window.”
Ugh, I wanted to kill him! I punched him so fast he didn’t have time to move. Or maybe he didn’t care. He laughed, loudly, while he wiped his abs like my punch had been a piece of lint.
“I was preparing a nosh when I saw you were walking towards my home,” he explained returning to the kitchen area where the window was, and grabbing a white chunk of something. He put it in his mouth and sucked it, then took out a large seed and tossed it. “Do you crave some?”
I nodded. I didn't care what he was offering. If it was food and he was giving it to me the answer would always be yes. Heck, forget about him. If it was food I wanted it. I kneeled on the chair, and rested my elbows on the table across from him, then proceeded to unapologetically drool over him while he prepared my mystery snack. I think I even sighed because he chuckled, and continued working as though it was completely normal for me to be checking him out like a total perv. The muscles of his arms and pecks flexed and relaxed while he grabbed the chunks one by one and stripped the meaty part from the big seeds. He rested his right hip on the counter so he wasn't giving me his back while he worked. I took a sip of the ale looking at his profile. Cathair was tall, like most of the men here, especially the Warriors. He had soft short hair that fell a bit wavy on his forehead. His eyes were a remarkably light hazel tone, which went great with his caramel color skin, probably from the sun, and his light golden brown hair. His face was square, his jawline and chin completely flawless. Thick eyebrows, a long nose and small fleshy lips completed the package. A sleek, beautifully trimmed, anchored-goatee contoured his jaw, and encased his lips. The line so perfectly shaved that you would think it was done by a modern barber. I was almost ashamed to admit it but among the perfect face, his to die for abs, hard dreamily formed pecks and that duck butt that protruded from the linen pants, I would have to say his most sexy quality was his clavicle. The thing was, I knew how sexy it could look on a woman and never in a million years I thought I'd find that sexy on a man but holy guacamole! His was seriously delectable. It jotted at the base of his neck and beautifully encased his shoulders. Pure bliss.
He lifted his arm, reaching for a bowl and my eyes continued down his torso to the tattoo he had just under his left rib. It was a long feather with two Celtic symbols on its center. My eyes returned to his arm. His shoulder had the most beautiful tattoo I had ever seen. It was the face of a woman. Her flowing hair framed her and the strands seemed to float on his shoulder. Her eyes were big and she had what looked like tribal make up, on. Two small, circular symbols were right under her eyes and one that resembled a flower of her forehead. On the top of her hair, front and center like the jewel in her crown was a crescent moon. The crown was made of wings, which opened upwards, with a big star in the center. Something was written, below the image of her.
“What does it say?”
I asked as I saw Cathair turn, and walk towards me with a medium bowl in his hand. It was filled with the white chunks. He placed it on the table and mimicked my position, resting his forearms on the surface.
“Leantainn a 'ghealach.” He answered, picking up one of the small pieces with his fingers and feeding it to me.
My lips opened while I looked into his eyes, hypnotized. He was dangerous. “And that means?” I asked before I started chewing and he chuckled, sucking the juice left on his fingertips.
“Follow the Moon.” His eyes went to his shoulder then returned to me. “That is our Earth Mother.”
<
br /> “She’s beautiful.”
He nodded, and picked up another small piece of the juicy and meaty fruit, putting it in my mouth. I couldn't find it in me to complain. He ate one and sucked his fingertips again. I struggled to remember what the hell it was I was doing here. Then another thought entered my mind. His face was barely an inch away from mine. His eyes went to my lips, and he wiped them with his fingertip then put it in his mouth again.
“Have you been claimed?” He asked, startling me.
“Excuse me?”
“You know precisely what I ask,” He said, with a glint of wickedness in his eyes.
“I don’t belong to anybody. I’m a woman, not a possession.”
He smirked. “I know you are woman. I am acutely aware of the fact. Nevertheless, my question remains. Has Art claimed you?”
My eyes widened. “What? Umm, no!” What the hell was wrong with these Druids? “Art has not claimed me, and no he doesn't have the right to do it either.”
He stared at me like he was trying to figure something out. “You have been staying with him for a long time now. Are the two of you not together?”
As much as I wanted to say yes, because of sexy Chewie reasons, the answer was a big, fat, pathetic… “No.”
“May I claim you?”
“What??”
“Is it not clear? I desire to claim you, Amelia. You are an exotic beauty, witty, unpredictable, resilient, and your body makes me ache. So I will ask once more. May I claim you? Although, you must know, if you say yes, you may not stay with Art anymore. You must stay here with me, in my arms, every night.”
Something was seriously wrong with me, and I was sure I needed to get my head checked out as soon as I returned to the real world. I had to be crazy to turn down this man. Especially considering how freaking hell fire hot he was, and how long it had been since I had even been kissed or enjoyed certain other things.
“I am not with Art, and no, you may not claim me. Like I said, I’m a woman, not an object and furthermore, that is not why I came here.”
Renewed Magic (The Ancient Magic Series Book 2) Page 12
