[Study 02] - Magic Study

by Maria V. Snyder

  “Now,” I whispered to Leif. We rushed up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

  Ferde waited for us on the landing. We skittered to a stop on the top step. An amused smile quirked Ferde’s lips before he pressed them together with concentration. Revulsion and terror welled up my throat at the sight of him, and I thought I would vomit as Tula’s horrible memories filled my mind.

  The wave of his magic crashed against us. I grabbed the railing to keep from plummeting down the stairs. Leif jerked beside me but remained upright. Was that it? I glanced at Ferde. His eyes were closed. Moving toward him, I raised Perl’s device.

  “Yelena, stop,” Leif said. His voice sounded odd.

  I looked at Leif in time to see him swing his machete. Jumping back, I dropped Perl’s device and blocked Leif’s weapon with my bow.

  “What are you—” I tried to ask, but with the pill between my teeth made it hard to talk.

  Leif spat his pill out and moved to strike again. “When those men took my perfect baby sister, I thought I would reclaim my parents’ undivided attention.” Leif’s machete sliced toward my neck.

  I ducked. Had his shame and guilt all been an act? Was he working with Ferde this whole time? Pushing aside my stunned disbelief, I jabbed him in the stomach with the end of my bow. He hunched over and grunted. Magic pressed on my skin and Leif straightened with renewed vigor. But whose magic?

  “Instead, I had to compete with a perfect ghost,” Leif said and attacked.

  Chunks of wood flew through the air as I blocked his wide blade. It was only a matter of time before he would destroy my bow and I was running out of room in the narrow landing. There was a hallway to my left, and an open doorway on my right.

  “Mother refused to leave our house, and Father was never home. All because of you.” Leif puffed with effort. “And you stayed away just to spite me. Didn’t you? You’re my strangler fig, and now it’s time to chop you down.”

  Ferde had disappeared. I felt Gelsi’s brief cry of alarm as Ferde entered her room. He planned to finish the ritual while Leif kept me occupied. And it was working.

  With a loud crack, my bow splintered in two. Leif advanced and I formed a magical shield, but he walked right through. As a last-ditch effort I sent out my mental awareness, entering his dark mind.

  Hate and self-loathing filled his thoughts. I felt another presence in Leif’s head. Ferde had Story Weaver abilities and he had brought out all of Leif’s raw emotions and used them against me.

  As Leif sliced his machete toward me, I stepped to the left, bringing my awareness back. I couldn’t defend myself physically while mentally gone; I just wasn’t that strong. Leif pulled his weapon back and thrust at me again. I had nothing left to defend myself. Perl’s device was out of reach.

  Gelsi’s pleas for help burned through my thoughts like a hot poker, energizing me. I projected myself into Leif’s mind, taking control of his body like I had done with Goel. Halting the tip of his machete a mere inch from my stomach, I made Leif step back.

  Pushing through the darkness of Leif’s mind, I found the young boy who had watched his sister being kidnapped; untainted with the feelings of guilt and hate. At that moment he held only curiosity and disbelief. Two emotions that Ferde wouldn’t be able to use against me. I sent Leif into a deep dreamless sleep. He crumpled to the floor as I went back to my body. Stopping Ferde was paramount; I would deal with Leif later. I hoped.

  Picking up Perl’s device, I sprinted down the hall, searching for Gelsi. Only the last door on the left had been closed. Locked. I yanked my picks out and unlocked the door. My fastest time yet. Janco would be proud.

  The door swung inward and I stumbled into the room. Ferde had his hands around Gelsi’s throat. I watched in horror as all animation left her face. Her eyes turned sightless and flat.

  Ferde shouted and thrust his fists toward the ceiling in celebration.

  33

  TOO LATE. WITH MY HEART sinking, I watched Ferde rejoice. But then I saw a strange shadow rise from Gelsi’s body. Before logic could overrule, I dove. Knocking Ferde aside, I inhaled this shadow, gathering Gelsi’s soul inside me. It felt as if the world paused for a moment so I could tuck her into a safe corner of my mind. Then, snap. Movement resumed and I fell on top of Ferde. Perl’s device flew from my hand. It landed next to the wall.

  After a brief struggle, Ferde pinned me to the floor, sitting on my stomach. “That’s my soul,” he said. “Give it back.”

  “It doesn’t belong to you.”

  Yelena? I felt Gelsi’s confusion in my mind.

  Hold on, I told her.

  Ferde reached toward my neck. I grabbed his hands, and using his forward momentum I pushed him further off balance with my left knee. I planted my left foot on the floor and twisted my hips, rolling him off me. I jumped up and assumed a fighting stance.

  Ferde smiled and regained his feet with a panther-quick grace. “We are well matched. But I think I have the advantage.”

  I braced for an attack, but he didn’t move. His red tattoos began to glow until they burned my eyes. He caught my gaze with his own, staring at me with his dark brown eyes.

  Ferde’s face transformed into Reyad’s. My world spun and I found myself back in Reyad’s bedroom in Ixia, tied to the bed and watching Reyad dig through his chest of torture devices. After an initial moment of panic and fear that I would be forced to relive Reyad’s torture, the scene jumped ahead to Reyad’s stunned expression as hot blood gushed from his throat, soaking me.

  You are a killer, too, Ferde said in my mind. Images of the other men I had killed flashed by. You have the power to collect souls without the need for symbols and blood. Why do you think Reyad still haunts you? You have taken his soul, your first of many more. I see the future and yours doesn’t improve.

  The images spun dizzyingly and Irys’s cold eyes stared at me as I watched Valek swing from a noose. Leif’s hatred pounded in my mind along with Cahil’s desire to have me executed. The Commander smiling in satisfaction at my trial for committing espionage, because he had gotten what he wanted from me and now I would no longer be a problem for Ixia.

  Look at what the Master Magicians did to that Soulfinder long ago, Ferde said.

  A man who had been chained to a post was set on fire. His screams of pain vibrated in my mind. Ferde held that image until the man’s skin had burned away. I struggled to regain control over my mind, but Ferde’s magic equaled a Master and I couldn’t push him away.

  The Soulfinder only wanted to help, bringing the dead back to life for their family and friends. It wasn’t his fault they were different when they awoke, Ferde said in my mind. Panic and fear of the unknown condemned him just like the Council will condemn you, too. All that I have shown you will be your fate. I see it in your story threads. Moon Man isn’t your true Story Weaver, I am.

  His logic was persuasive. He understood my desire to find my place. It was next to him. Soulfinder and Soulstealer.

  Yes. I’ll change your story and the Council won’t burn you alive. Just give me Gelsi’s soul.

  A small corner of my mind resisted, yelling for action. Stealing souls is wrong, I said. I shouldn’t.

  Then why have you been gifted with the ability if you’re not supposed to use it? Ferde asked.

  I should use it to help people.

  That’s what the other Soulfinder wanted to do. See what happened to him.

  Focusing my thoughts became difficult. Ferde’s control began to spread and soon he would take Gelsi from me.

  Give me the girl. If I pull her from you, you will die. You’ll be the first victim of my new administration. Your parents will be the next two.

  Images of Perl being mutilated and Esau being hacked into pieces filled my mind. Blood splashed as I watched in helpless horror.

  Save them and you can have complete freedom for the first time in your life.

  His strong spell enticed me. I found myself agreeing with him. Freedom. Ferde sent a wave of pleasure th
rough my body. I moaned as an intoxicating mix of joy and gratification flushed through me. I wanted to give Gelsi to him. But he went too far when my soul filled with contentment. Because I already owned that feeling whenever Valek held me in his arms.

  I swayed on my feet and sweated with the effort to keep Ferde from taking Gelsi. He had realized his mistake and launched a mental attack to get her soul. Wrapping my arms tight around my chest, I collapsed to the ground. Fire burned inside me. Tears and sweat stung my eyes, but I spotted Perl’s device nearby before pain twisted my body. All I needed was a second.

  Trouble, love? Valek asked.

  I need your immunity to magic.

  Yours.

  A resistance to magic, unlike any barrier I could form, grew in my mind, blocking Ferde’s control. I opened my eyes.

  “You almost had me,” I said to Ferde. I picked up Perl’s device and stood on unsteady legs.

  Ferde’s surprise didn’t last long. “No matter. The effort to repel me has weakened you.”

  In two strides, he closed the distance between us. His hands wrapped around my throat. He was right. While I didn’t have the power to stop him, I could do something else. As his thumbs pressed into my windpipe, I lifted Perl’s device.

  Black and white spots began to dance in front of my eyes. Before Ferde could react to my movement, I aimed the nozzle at him and pumped the rubber ball, spraying Curare into his face. Invented to apply perfume, Perl’s little device worked like a charm.

  Ferde’s face froze in horror. I pushed his hands away and he fell to the ground.

  There will be others, was Ferde’s last thought before the drug paralyzed his body and his magic.

  Once satisfied that he was frozen, I entered his mind. Trapped within the darkness were all the souls he had stolen. I released them into the sky. Feeling a rush of movement, I briefly joined the freed souls, soaking in their happiness and joy, then I returned to my body.

  Without a moment to lose, I scooted over to Gelsi. Resting the tips of my fingers on her neck, I concentrated on her injuries and repaired them, including the cuts along her arms and legs.

  Go back, I told Gelsi.

  She had huddled in my mind, frightened and confused during the battle with Ferde, but now she understood. Her body bloomed with life, and she drew in a long shaky breath.

  I cut her bonds with my switchblade, and, after spitting out the soggy Theobroma pill, I lay next to her, feeling exhausted and spent. She clung to me. My throat blazed with each lungful of air.

  After a long while, I summoned the energy to stand, pulling Gelsi with me. We found Gelsi’s clothes and I helped her into them. Before guiding her down to the living room to rest on a comfortable couch, I waved a hand out one of the second-story windows. Dax would be here soon.

  “I will be expelled,” she whispered.

  I shook my head. “You’ll be smothered with concern and understanding. And given all the time you need to recover.”

  Once Dax arrived to take my place next to Gelsi, I went back up to the landing where I had left Leif. Reluctance pulled at my legs. It felt as if they had been pricked with Curare.

  I didn’t have the strength to untie his twisted thoughts. My promise to Moon Man would have to wait a while longer. I drew Leif into a lighter sleep so he would rouse after I left. Ferde’s last comment had made me realize that I still had some unfinished business to attend to.

  Dax had a protective arm around Gelsi when I went downstairs.

  “I sent a message to Master Bloodgood. The Masters are on their way with a battalion of guards to take Ferde to the Keep’s prison,” Dax said.

  “Then I better go. I’m supposed to be confined to my quarters.”

  Dax shook his head. “Second Magician knows what you did.”

  “All the more reason not to be here when they arrive.”

  “But—”

  I waved and hurried out the door, slinging my backpack over one shoulder. Since I had been expelled from the Keep’s program, I knew I would soon be kicked out of my rooms. I planned to be long gone before giving Roze the satisfaction of evicting me.

  Fisk ran over to me when I crossed the courtyard.

  “Did we help?” Fisk asked. “Is everything okay?”

  “You did great.” I rummaged in my pack and handed Fisk all the Sitian coins I had. “Distribute these to your troops.”

  He smiled and dashed away.

  A bone-deep weariness settled on me as I made my way through the Citadel. My surroundings blurred and I walked in a daze. When I passed the Council Hall, the group of beggars, who always hovered near the steps, began to follow me.

  “Sorry. I can’t help you today,” I called over my shoulder. The group returned to the Hall, but one persisted. I turned around. “I said—”

  “Lovely lady, spare a copper?” the man asked.

  Dirt streaked his face and his hair hung in greasy clumps. His clothes were torn and filthy, and he smelled like horse manure. But he couldn’t disguise those penetrating sapphire-blue eyes from me.

  “Can’t you spare a copper for the man who just saved your life?” Valek asked.

  “I’m broke. I had to pay off the distraction. Those kids don’t work cheap. What—”

  “Unity fountain. A quarter hour.” Valek returned to the steps and joined the other beggars.

  I continued toward the Keep, but once I was out of sight of the Council Hall, I took a side street and headed to the Unity Fountain. The jade sphere with its holes and other spheres nestled inside it shone in the sunlight. The water spray from the circle of waterspouts sparkled in the cool air. My relief from knowing that Valek was unharmed warred with my concern that he should be far away from the Citadel.

  A quick movement in a shadow caught my attention. I wandered over to the dark recess of a doorway and joined Valek, embracing him for a fierce moment before pulling back.

  “Thank you for helping me against Ferde,” I said. “Now go home before you get caught.”

  Valek smiled. “And miss all the fun? No, love. I’m going with you on your errand.”

  I could only produce a muted surprise. Valek and I didn’t have a mental connection like the one I’d had with Irys, yet he knew my thoughts, and, when I had needed his help, he had always been there.

  “There’s no way I can convince you to go to Ixia?” My brief spurt of energy on seeing Valek safe faded.

  “None.”

  “All right. Although I reserve the right to say, ‘I told you so’ should you get captured.” I tried to say it in a stern tone, but my battered and tired soul was so filled with relief that Valek was coming with me that the words turned playful.

  “Agreed.” Valek’s eyes lit up, anticipating the challenge.

  34

  VALEK AND I DECIDED ON the best course of action, and arranged to meet again at the edge of the Avibian Plains.

  When I reached the Keep, I went straight to my rooms to pack. While I determined what to take along, someone knocked on my door. Out of habit I looked for my bow before realizing it had been destroyed by Leif. Instead, I grabbed my switchblade.

  I relaxed a bit when I opened the door. Irys stood there, looking hesitant. Stepping back, I invited her in.

  “I have some news,” Irys said. When I just stared at her, she continued, “Ferde has been taken to the Keep’s cells, and the Council has revoked your expulsion. They want you to stay so you can fully explore your magical abilities.”

  “Who would teach me?”

  Irys glanced at the ground. “It would be your choice.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Irys nodded and turned to go. Then stopped. “I’m sorry, Yelena. I had no trust in your abilities and yet you achieved what four Master Magicians could not.”

  There was still a faint link between us, and I felt Irys’s uncertainty and her loss of confidence. She questioned her ability to handle future difficult situations. She felt her beliefs on what was needed to solve a problem had been pr
oven wrong.

  “In this situation, magic was not the solution,” I told her. “It was the lack of magic that allowed me to beat Ferde. And I couldn’t have done that without Valek.”

  She considered my words for a moment and seemed to make a decision.

  “I propose a partnership,” Irys said.

  “A partnership?” I asked.

  “I believe you no longer need a teacher, but a partner to help you discover just how strong a Soulfinder you are.”

  I winced at the title. “Do you think I’m one?”

  “I’ve suspected, but didn’t want to really believe it. An automatic response just like your cringe just now. And, it seems I need some guidance. I’ve found that the Sitian way is not always appropriate. Perhaps you could help me with that?”

  “Are you sure you would want to learn the ‘rush into a situation and hope for the best’ method?”

  “As long as you want to discover more about being a Soulfinder. Is it really against the Ethical Code? Perhaps the Code needs to be updated. And could you be considered a Master, or would you have to take the Master’s test first?”

  “The Master test? I’ve heard some horror stories.” My throat began to tighten. I swallowed with some difficulty.

  “Rumors, mostly. To discourage the students so that only those who feel confident in their abilities will be brave enough to ask to take the test.”

  “And if they’re not strong enough?”

  “They won’t succeed, but they’ll learn the full extent of their powers. This is better than being surprised later.”

  Irys fell silent. I felt her mind reaching toward mine. Do we have a deal? she asked in my mind.

  I’ll think about it. A lot has happened.

  So it has, she agreed. Let me know when you’re ready. Irys left my rooms.

  I closed the door. My mind shuffled through the possibility of exploring my powers versus the risk of being condemned as a Soulfinder. Despite having to worry about poison in the Commander’s food, I began to think life in Ixia had been easier. After my errand, as Valek so casually called it, I had some choices on where to go next. Nice to have choices. Again.