"Thank you for what you did back there." I met his eyes.
"You're welcome, Esther," He said. He held my gaze for a few moments before exiting my room. I had to remember to breath when I was around him. His presence was very intense.
"Let me grab a few things, and I'll meet you there," I said, wanting to tell Ligeia and Maeve where I was going.
"Don't be long," he warned me and let himself out.
I hurried back down the hall and Maeve and Ligeia were both staring at me.
"What did he want?" They both chimed in at the same time.
"He wants me to go see Professor Atwater. He thinks my advisor can help me." I explained.
"Was that all?" Ligeia wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "I thought he might have come here to sweep you off your feet after rescuing you so heroically in the woods."
"You are so ridiculous, you know that," I said, my eyes sharp as I looked at both of them. "of all the times to be thinking of that."
Maeve was laughing and Ligeia was still throwing me suggestive glances.
I felt myself grow sad. "It's not like that anyway. Clearly, he's not altogether human. I don't think I'm his type." I said.
"Well, I guess you'll find out sooner or later." She said simply. I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but I didn't have time to ponder it. I grabbed a coat and all the evidence I had gathered so far from the demon. Then I made my way to Professor Atwater's Office.
* * *
Kairn was already there when I arrived and the door was open so I walked in and sat down in the other chair. Professor Atwater looked surprised to see me but didn't say anything.
"I guess you haven't told him why we're here?" I asked Kairn.
"I was getting to it," He said.
"It's lovely to see you, of course, Esther," Professor Atwater said, confusion lingering in his voice. "I always enjoy seeing my favorite students, and together no less. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Kairn spoke up, not acknowledging the compliment, " We discovered what's been causing me to be drawn into the Wild Hunt."
"Ah, is that so?" Professor Atwater didn't seem even the least bit surprised that I knew about Kairn.
"Yes, and you're not going to like it." He added. "Esther, do you want to explain what you know."
"Of course," I thought about how to best explain myself. "This year the Headmaster has been meeting with me occasionally." I started.
"Yes," Professor Atwater nodded, "He's been somewhat concerned about you being unbound."
I continued. "I know. In fact, he's been trying to get me to agree to go through with the binding." My advisor's expression grew more confused. "In one of these meetings he gave me a ritual to perform to summon an entity which would want to bind with me," I explained.
"Go on." The professor prodded.
"It was awful. I burned myself badly in the process and did manage to summon something. Later, I researched the ritual and discovered that it was a blood summoning ritual meant to call a demon upon me. The demon showed up in my dreams night after night." I explained feeling myself growing more fearful as I laid out all that I knew. I glossed over the part about how we had broken into the headmaster's office, by making it sound like I had read about the rest of it in a book. "I think the headmaster is bound to a demon." I finished.
"This is a nasty business, isn't it," Professor Atwater fretted. "I've had my suspicions about the Headmaster's personal affairs for some time, but I hadn't realized it had gotten this bad."
"Since I just had to drive the demon into the underworld, I'm thinking it's actually beyond just bad," Kairn nearly growled.
"I have to agree," I added.
"You know it does answer one question though," Professor Atwater said. "Why do you think the demon wants you specifically?"
"I don't have the faintest clue," I said honestly.
Kairn muttered, "She still doesn't know what she is."
I felt embarrassed as if there was some large piece of information I was missing.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.
Professor Atwater glared at Kairn and soothed me saying, "It's just a theory I had that Kairn believes to be true. This is definitely starting to support my theory."
I waited for him to explain. "Okay."
"Well, as you know Kairn is not a typical mage. He is an incarnation." Professor Atwater began.
"Yes," I nodded.
"When you first came to the Academy, I got the sense that there might be something different about you as well. I requested to have you as my advisee for that reason. In any case, demons are also attracted to Mages who show extraordinary potential. I have developed a theory about what the origins of your magic might be. I'm so glad that I chose not to mention it to the headmaster." He explained cryptically.
"So what is it?" I asked feeling frustrated by the lack of explanation.
"Yes, of course," Professor Atwater refocused himself, "I believe that you are the child of a goddess. If you were an incarnation you would have in all likelihood taken on your true form at some point already. Clearly, you are not bound to any god, but you do display a remarkable affinity for magic."
I blushed at the praise. "What does that mean, the child of a goddess?"
"It is exactly like what it sounds like. Some Goddesses can form children of their own, part goddess and part human. That is what I believe you are. You do not need to be bound to a god, because you can control magic in your own right. When I saw you perform that transport spell, it really clarified that for me."
"Huh," I said stumped. "So are you saying there is a goddess who is actually my mother?"
"If I'm correct, then yes." He said.
"So what does that mean for me?" I asked. If I didn't need to be bound, what was I supposed to do?
"Well, the children of Goddesses go through a process called Awakening." He explained carefully.
"What does Awakening require me to do?" I asked.
"To be honest, Esther, I'm not exactly sure. There haven't been children of the Gods in thousands of years. I know that it is a necessary process, but I figured we had time to wait and see. Now it seems like I was mistaken. So you are going to have to find out what it means. Do some research and I will as well. In the meantime, we have to figure out what to do about this demon." He explained.
I was awestruck. Could it possibly be true? The daughter of a Goddess? It sounded too fanciful even for me. Kairn looked up and added, "I think I have an idea about the demon."
Professor Atwater and I listened as he proposed a plan to give us more time. "I think we should try to summon it here."
I gasped audibly before I could contain it, but Kairn continued explaining his plan. "If we bring it here, while we are prepared for it we can trap it in the underworld and possibly hold it there."
Professor Atwater looked like he was thinking about it. He said, "Yes, that might work. The bond between the headmaster and the demon would suffer, allowing a distraction. He would become very ill so he would be less inclined to check in with Esther while we figure out what to do."
"Exactly," Kairn stated.
"I'm going to need some time to prepare," Explained Professor Atwater.
"I think we can lay low over the break," I said. "That will give us all time to prepare." I wasn't sure how on earth I was going to find out anything about awakening, but it had to be done one way or another.
"Alright, It sounds like we have a plan," our advisor said. Kairn and I walked out of Atwater's office and parted ways in front of the building.
"I'm glad you brought me to him," I said.
"Of course," He said. I wanted to say more, but before I could he was already walking away. We'd seen a lot together already, but he still seemed very distant. I didn't follow him.
* * *
22
Back at Halewick, I went to bed feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Days passed and Christmas Break was coming to a close. I still didn't know what the Awakening was or how
to do it. I'd spent countless hours in the library pouring over ancient books to no avail. It was a mystery.
One morning I was spending time with Maeve and Luna in the sitting room.
"How do you find out something you need to know, if it's not written anywhere," I asked. I was glad to be sitting with Maeve. She asked fewer questions than Ligeia. She seemed to think it over.
She replied, "What you want for that is divination."
"Like reading fortunes?" I asked.
"I guess you could say it's like that. It's a rare talent, but it comes with being bound to the God of time. You could find Sybelle. She might help you." Maeve said quietly while stroking Luna behind the ears.
"Thanks, that's a good idea," I said.
There were several houses along row next to Halewick House, but I knew that Sybelle lived in the house with Aria and her friends. It must be hard living with them. I ventured up to the house, a sunny yellow craftsman style home with a stained-glass door. I knocked on the door and waited. Several minutes passed and just as I was about to knock again, the door opened. It was Aria. She looked disheveled and weary.
"What do you want," She asked, her voice sounded hoarse. Maybe she was sick.
"Is Sybelle here?" I asked.
"The third bedroom on the left," She croaked.
I walked down the strangely cheery hallway, a complete opposite to our moody old house, and found the door she had directed me to. I knocked on the door and Sybelle opened it. She never failed to surprise me with her strange energy. She had shocking eyes of light grey that were all the more prominent since they were ringed with dark lashes. She didn't ask me what I was doing or anything. She simply opened the door to let me in. Her room was strange. It matched the cheery decor of the house, but somehow still maintained an otherworldly presence.
Sybelle was one of those people who were comfortable with silence. She was waiting for me to be the first to speak so I started.
"I need some help," I said as she nodded like she knew what I wanted all along. "I need to find something out, but it's not written in any books. Do you know of a way I can do that?" I asked.
"Yes, That can be done." She smiled sweetly. "It will only require that you promise me something."
"What's that?" I hesitated. I didn't have much to give her.
"That in the future when I call on you, you will do me a favor." Her gentle expression never changed, although I could sense the seriousness of what she was asking me. I shouldn't make a pact if I didn't know what it was going to require of me in the future. On the other hand, how else was I going to find out about the awakening?
"Okay, I'll do it," I said, hoping that it wouldn't come back to back.
"Excellent," Sybelle said. She seemed to know that I was going to say yes because she opened a drawer in her desk where two unused candles were stashed. She lit the candles as well as a heady incense that I wasn't familiar with. It had a spicy heavy scent that made me feel lightheaded. We sat on two round pillows she had on the floor. She closed her eyes and began to hum quietly. She began to fall into some sort of trance. I watched her rock back and forth as the trance seemed to deepen. The cheerful colors of her room seemed out of place to the heavy atmosphere the room had taken on. There was a stillness as if we were outside of time itself.
At once she opened her eyes, and I was shocked to see that only the whites of her eyes were visible.
She spoke in a haunting monotone voice, "You are looking for a door." She said it out loud as if she was merely repeating something she was hearing. Even though she was facing me, it didn't feel like I was the one she was talking to. "The door is all around you. You could open it now if you wanted to."
"How do I open it?" I asked.
"How is not the question," She hummed, still using the strange voice. "The question is when. When will you use the door?"
"Okay," I said, repeating the question. "When will I use the door?"
"You will use the door when you have met your match. The two of you have met before, lovers kept apart by fate." She was vibrating with energy.
"Are you talking about a person?" I asked, trying to see through the riddles she was spinning.
"A person yes, but also a fight. A fight unfairly started but evenly won." She continued to rock back and forth.
"Where will the door take me?" I asked.
"A better question, to be sure," She sang. "The door will take you to the space between worlds where you were born of fire and magic, and you will become your own."
"I still don't understand," I begged. I had made a promise to help her, and I would keep it, but so far this had not turned up any new leads for me. "I need to know about the Awakening," I said, desperately.
"You will," She said. Then slowly the rocking stopped and Sybelle began to come to.
When she was finally coherent, I thanked her and went on my way. Disappointment weighed me down. I had nothing to go on and so many factors battling against me. It was hard not to break down, but I didn't have time for it. I had to keep going.
23
Classes started back and I had to study feverishly to keep up with everything. The second semester was bounds and leaps more difficult than the first. Professor Atwater had drawn a complex diagram on the board. It showed intersecting spheres with various lines drawn at different angles. He didn't wait for everyone to arrive before he got started.
He pointed to the highest sphere on the diagram. "Who can tell me what lies here?" He asked.
Nobody spoke up. "Come now," he said. "Think critically. If you thought mid-term exams were hard, you are going to find yourself in a nasty surprise by the end of the year."
Several students in the class coughed awkwardly and even I felt chastened. It was hard to keep up with my studies when I was constantly trying to avoid attacks by a demon, and at the hands of the headmaster no less. Sybelle raised her hand.
"Yes, Sybelle," Professor Atwater called on her.
"It's the Luminous Ether right?" She said, her voice as wispy as air.
"Exactly Right," He confirmed. "What do you know about the Luminous Ether?" He looked at everyone now, opening the question again for the whole class.
"It's the sphere where magical energy is born?" I hazarded a guess.
"Perfect, Esther," He said. "What else?"
We continued like this for nearly the whole class period. It felt like an interrogation, as Professor Atwater extracted all the knowledge we had.
"There is one other sphere, we've yet to mention before," He added. I caught myself checking the clock, but I tried with some difficulty to refocus my attention on the professor. "The Plane of the Liminal is the space between the worlds. It is the place where souls journey between life and death, where Gods and Goddesses can be made known to us, and where magic passes to get to our own plane of existence."
Space between worlds. That sounded familiar. I tried to remember where I'd heard that before. Professor Atwater instructed us to read the chapter on the Liminal Plane before the next class. I put it down on my growing list of homework before heading to my next class.
In Magical Correspondences, we were now demonstrating our knowledge of correspondences by creating sample rituals. Any lack of knowledge from the previous semester would carry a heavy cost. There was no room for laziness when the incorrect correspondences could cause all kinds of magical mishaps. I was not the only one surreptitiously checking charts under my desk as I began constructing a ritual meant to ensure safety in travel.
By the time I got to my final class of the day, I had a pounding headache. Still, I was curiously eager to get to Practical Thaumaturgy. In my heart, I knew what the reason was. The deepest part of my heart whispered his name. Kairn. But now I knew the truth that he was one of the Ancient ones. It was hopeless for me to feel this way, but still, I did. I walked into Practical Thaumaturgy but tried to suppress my buoyant energy. It was useless for me to let myself get excited this way.
"Hello, Esther." He said as I sat down.
His voice was warm and rich. I reveled in the way he said my name, my voice nearly catching in my throat.
"Hello Kairn," I mirrored his words back to him. He had hardly ever been the one to greet me first. He was usually so distant, but today he looked at me differently, like he was trying hard to see something.
"Do you want to work together again?" He asked. Professor Malus had allowed me to cast Hallows on my own since I was proficient, but now that Kairn was back he wanted us to work together. I felt my heart rate speed up.
"Sure," I agreed, trying to play it cool.
"I think we work really well together," He said.
"How many girls have you said that to?" I joked, feeling my nervous laughter echo.
"I've never done magic with anyone else." He said suddenly serious. "Except for you."
"Me neither," I said, realizing that what he was saying was true.
"It's rather intimate isn't it?" He asked, and my face turned red involuntarily.
"I guess it is," I agreed.
We turned to our attention to the assignment. We were meant to cast a hallow and step inside it to begin casting enchantments. Within a hallow, you could imbue objects with magic, which would stay attached to the object even after it was no longer inside the hallow.
Kairn pressed his hands against mine and again I could see the swirling tattoos starting at his wrist and wrapping around his arm. There was a vibrational force that moved between us, through our connected hands. I could feel it as soon as we touched. It was powerful and threatened to overwhelm me. I concentrated on the task at hand and began to cast the hallow. Strangely, I could sense that Kairn was doing the same. It was like we were bound together by our shared magic. There was a push and pull, a feeling of maintaining balance. The hallow appeared before us and I stepped inside. Kairn slipped his fingers between mine and stepped in next to me.
It was like nothing I'd ever seen. Before, the hallow had appeared as energy, like a force field surrounding me, Now? It was a large room, circular with a vaulted ceiling. There were ornate geometric and astrological patterns all over the walls and ceiling. It was beautiful.
Unbound: Mage's Academy I Page 11
