Siphon (A Touch of Power Book 1)

by Jay Boyce

  After all, if you were going to spend 16 years trapped, talking shop with the people around you so they liked you and brought you things, like food not from the hospital, was an essential skill. Granted, she had only learned to talk when she was four, but hey, who was counting?

  Shaking off the memories of the past, she noted her profile screen again. Happy with the fact that everything but magic had gone up at least a little and that she had 11 new skills…wait, 11? She had noticed walking but hadn’t really paid attention to the fact that bluff and navigation had appeared on her list too. She hadn’t siphoned anyone for those. So that meant...well, basically, she figured it meant she could level normally too.

  Good to know.

  With a smile, she stood up and brushed the hair away from her face before slowly walking out of the alley. There was a weird copper tang mixed with the smell of garbage in the air there, and she was glad to go somewhere that hopefully smelled better. It was time to explore the wide world... and find her way back to the Green Dragon eventually. Maybe the library first? She should at least check it out...

  Chapter Six – Zombie

  Jade smiled, walking into the rich sunshine with her weird little jerky shamble. She stepped into the open space, her teeth bared in a grin as she took in the bustling street before her. She started to shuffle along, gawking avidly at the people and shops. She figured she might be able to brush against a few more people, just in case the other notifications went away. She figured she would have enough time to siphon that night, and if necessary, she was going to be a little pickier, but she didn’t want to miss out on any good skills she might get from a random person. Besides, her luck was considered to be pretty good, so maybe she’d brush up against someone awesome on the street.

  However, reality was not so kind. There was an invisible bubble around her and people were not letting her close. She finally figured it out when she saw a cute little girl with light brown pigtails tugging on her mom’s skirt and pointing, which seemed like a fairly normal kid thing to do. However, the words coming out of her mouth made her stop dead in her tracks. “Look, mommy; it’s a zombie!”

  The mother in question turned and glanced at her, letting out a little shriek and putting her hand over her heart, moving her child behind her instantly when she realized Jade was staring dumbfounded at the little girl. When had she become likened to a Zombie? Hadn’t she gained a little muscle instead of losing it? What the frick was going on?

  She tried to smile weakly and said softly, “I’m not a zombie…” The woman had looked ready to bolt when she smiled, but her words made the lady stop dead in her tracks too. Appropriate, given her kid had just called her an undead.

  Mother dearest seemed to be scrutinizing her incredibly closely, finally seeming to realize that she truly WASN’T a zombie. What the heck? She might be skinny, but it wasn’t THAT bad, right? Her hesitant voice was light and squeaky as she piped up, “Oh, I see. Are you all right? That’s…an awful lot of blood. Should we fetch a doctor?”

  Blood? What’s she talking ab...oh. Jade had held up her hands to the light, belatedly realizing she had forgotten about her wound. She swayed a little when she saw how much it had bled, vaguely recalling she’d mentally pushed the blood out so that no dirt would be trapped inside. Her arm was pretty covered, her other hand had been touching it, so it was covered, and she’d touched her face absently a few times, so she probably had stuff splattered there too. No wonder the kid thought she was a zombie with her twiggy frame. She sighed and looked at the woman, shaking her head. “No, I’m a beginner healer myself. I just forgot to wash up after I fell…” That was probably also why the copper smell was still there too. Go figure.

  A little sympathy stole onto the woman’s face now, and she noticed that a crowd of people were just…loitering around her, once they too had figured out she wasn’t a zombie. A few surprised murmurs went through the crowd at her statement. Only one stuck out to her, though. “A beginner healer? Is she an academy student?” No lady, not yet. But I will be! I was right; this is my ticket in!

  Meanwhile, the little girl had come out from behind her mom and was inspecting her quizzically. “You’re not a zombie? But you’re so dirty.” She looked so innocent with her bright blue eyes and sky blue dress, but her words belied the old adage about the truth coming out of the mouth of babes.

  Jade smiled down at her, forgetting again that it was probably still a little grisly at this point. She awkwardly squatted so she was on the girl’s level, saying cheerfully, “No, I’m not a zombie. I’m a healer, and I forgot to clean up after I healed myself.”

  The girl tilted her head quizzically, and the mom seemed too embarrassed to pull her back or stop her since she’d so painstakingly gone down to the kid’s level. “Does that mean you can fix my owwie?” The girl pointed to her knee, where a large bruise was yellowing. It looked like a typical kid fell down on hard surface situation.

  “Of course I can.” Scrutinizing her hands, Jade decided her left hand was the cleanest, being that most of the blood was on her forearm. She took the cleanest finger and reached out, touching the little girl’s bruise. Along with the customary blinking dot at the side of her vision, a picture of it appeared in her mind’s eye, and she mentally pushed the warm energy coursing through her hand into the little girl.

  For her part, the little girl looked surprised as she felt the warmth gush into her, looking down to see the bruise becoming normal colored at a visible pace. It only took her about ten seconds before she was totally fine. Beaming, she gushed, “It was warm! Look, mommy; my knee is all better now!”

  More surprised murmurs were running through the sizeable crowd she’d drawn, and the mother seemed to be debating something. Finally, she articulated. “Thank you for that.” Jade nodded, standing up awkwardly. Her muscles were protesting the squat she’d done.

  “No problem.” She shrugged and grinned. “It was just a little thing.”

  The woman nodded a bit skeptically, then motioned, “Why don’t you come in, and we’ll get you cleaned up?”

  Gratefully, Jade nodded again. “I’d appreciate that.” Contemplating the crowd of people, she thought she should do a bit of PR…and promptly remembered she still looked like a ‘zombie’ and threw that idea out the window. PR was for the pretty, not the disturbing. It was literally the start of pretty.

  The little girl reached up, now completely unafraid, and grabbed her left hand, pulling her towards the shop door her mom was holding open. Why did it seem like she was always being pulled places?

  As she was pulled to the back, most likely to avoid having the customers gawking at the blood covered skeletal lady and affecting business, but maybe it’s just because that’s where the water was, and she was overthinking things? I should probably at least give them the benefit of the doubt. Also, I should figure out how to get some water magic. Or prestidigitation. Instant cleaning sounds pretty nice right now. She was avoiding rubbing her arms and face, not wanting to flake off blood in the lady’s store. Which, now that she had looked around it, seemed to be a…tailor’s shop? Dressmaker? What did they call them here? She didn’t want to commit a faux pas and call it something she shouldn’t. She was suddenly glad she’d never called Jessica and Kaylee maids to their faces. What if it was horribly insulting? Raphael didn’t seem like the butler type…

  Coming back to reality, she found herself at the door of a small washroom. No shower, but a tub, toilet like thing, sink, and mirror completed the small space. She heaved a sigh of relief. Indoor plumbing was a thing! It was then that she realized she really, really needed to use the bathroom. “Do you need any help?”

  “Ah, no! I’m good. I just need to use the…” Bathroom, loo, restroom, toilet, ah whatever, I need to pee, lady! “Facilities as well, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. I’ll be outside if you need anything.” I’m not an invalid anymore, dangit! I don’t need help to pee anymore!

  “Thank you.” Instead of letti
ng her inner rant out, she smiled serenely and crip-walked her way into possibly the most gangsta bathroom she had ever seen. Then again, she only had hospital bathrooms and catheters to compare it to, so it wasn’t like that wasn’t an easy title. Closing the door behind her, she left her decorum behind and twitched as fast as she could over to the toilety thing, doing her business quickly. Oh, sweet relief! She sighed in satisfaction at her bona fide first independent bathroom visit.

  She felt a little like a child, getting all these firsts. Walking by herself, potty training, going outside alone… She had graduated from preschool level skills, yay! It took her a minute to figure out how to flush the dang toilety thing though. There wasn’t a convenient handle, and it reminded her more of an airplane toilet she’d seen in movies where you kinda had to give things a push down the hole with very, very minimal water helping it along.

  Moving along to the sink, she stared at herself in the mirror again. Her face did look a tiny bit less skeletal than before, but with the blood smears, she still looked pretty gruesome. The soap she picked up was a harsh lye soap, another reminder of the purely functional crap at the hospital that made you smell like disinfectant all the time. She was going to have to see if they had real soap somewhere. If not, she was going to figure out how to make it. She’d watched one of those hippy hand soap do it yourself tutorials once, so as long as she could figure out the ingredients, maybe she could experiment…

  Shaking her head, she cleaned off her hands and arm, relieved to see there wasn’t a scar on her arm. It would have been really stupid if she had scarred herself just to see if she could heal it. Why didn’t she use less pressure and just cause a bruise first? Shaking her head, she gave it up. It was done already, so no point crying over spilled milk. Mmmmm, milk. They should have cows here, right?

  Hands clean, she stared at the soap again. She really didn’t want to use it on her face. Frowning, she absently picked at the blood spots, muttering darkly, “Prestidigitation is like the mage starter skill. Why couldn’t I get the mage starter kit?” She thought it would be so nice if the blood just beaded up and rolled away like one of those wicking jackets in the rain.

  Feeling something moving along her forehead, she barely stopped herself from screaming as it stopped again. She scrutinized the mirror, not wanting to touch whatever creepy crawly had managed to invade her space any more than she had to. What was surprising was that…there was nothing there but blood.

  Frowning, she peered more closely at the blood. Did it seem…more concentrated? She belatedly realized that the warm power she’d felt when healing was buzzing through her fingers again, and wondered if just maybe… Focusing, she tried to pick up her train of thought. If the blood beaded together, she could let it roll right off her skin… The warm tinglies told her something was happening, and she stared wide-eyed as the blood really did start to bead up, rolling out of her hair. She put her finger next to it, willing it to go onto her hand so that she could wash it off easily. She was both amazed and creeped out when it did so. Quickly putting her hands under the surprisingly clean water–Where is it coming from? Should I be conserving it?–she washed the blood down the drain, trying not to hyperventilate.

  I can control blood. Blood. How did I do that? That was so creepy… Trying to think logically, she tried to think of how to confirm it, before hitting herself in the forehead. “Duh.” She muttered before mentally pulling up the skills section of her profile.

  Appraisal

  Beginner 1

  50%

  Athletics

  Beginner 2

  55%

  Blood Magic

  Beginner 1

  30%

  Bluff

  Beginner 1

  60%

  Diplomacy

  Beginner 2

  65%

  Healing Magic

  Beginner 7

  86%

  Insight

  Beginner 2

  20%

  Mathematics

  Beginner 2

  45%

  Navigation

  Beginner 1

  20%

  Perception

  Beginner 2

  40%

  Sense Motive

  Beginner 1

  30%

  Walking

  Beginner 2

  5%

  Wind Magic

  Beginner 2

  82%

  And there it was, sitting pretty at the top. She had somehow managed to teach herself some magic. Albeit the really creepy kind that usually only the villains had. On the bright side, apparently stuff went up really fast at the beginning stages because a couple of things had already gone up. Can I teach myself more magic?

  She was about to try messing with the water when the mom from before rapped on the door and called out, “You doing okay in there?”

  Oh right, I’m in public. Probably not the right time or place to be doing this… With a smile, she reached for the doorknob, pulling it open as she grinned brilliantly at the mom. “I’m wonderful, thanks!” She would be amazing if she really could teach herself magic. She could just feel the cheating sirens going off in her head.

  “Oh, you don’t look like a zombie as much anymore now that you’re clean!” The little girl sounded a little disappointed, to be honest. Apparently seeing a zombie would have been a grand adventure for her...then again, that’s a story most kids would probably kill to have. Jade just smiled, crouching a tiny bit more easily this time now that she had a little more practice with the movement.

  “I should hope not! I’m Jade, what’s your name?”

  “Tina.” She stuck her thumb in her little mouth, grinning guilelessly at Jade. Standing up, she glanced at the mom and raised her brow a little bit, and the woman was flustered a little as she hurried to introduce herself as well.

  “I’m Sharon Dennis. It’s lovely to meet you, Jade, despite the...odd circumstances.” She hesitated, then decided to ask anyway. “Are you from the academy?” Sharon was an average type of woman, a little taller than Jade, with wispy brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and perceptive light blue eyes. What was above average though, was her clothing. Just from the little she’d seen around town, she could tell that Sharon’s dress was much higher quality. It fit her form perfectly, and there were little flourishes of embroidery and a tiny bit of lace at the neckline.

  Jade shook her head, shrugging as she explained, “Not yet, but I’m here to take the examinations.” That was easier than explaining that she was a traveler. She might just use that from now on so she didn’t have to explain her life story to people. Unless she needed information, that was. Sometimes you had to give to get, after all.

  “Oh, that makes sense!” She smiled, then reached into her pocket–her dress had pockets!–and pulled out two silver leaves. Jade regarded her with confusion, not quite sure why she was pulling out money. When she pushed them into Jade’s hand, she was even more perplexed even as a new blinking dot appeared in her vision.

  “What’s this for?”

  Sharon just smiled and spoke much more placidly, “It’s my apology for Tina’s outburst and my thanks for healing her.”

  Jade stared at her in contemplation. Should she accept this? She needed the money, but at the same time, she’d already used her bathroom. She did heal her, but it was just a bruise… It also looked like… Lightbulb! She had pulled the money out after she’d confirmed she was here to go to the academy. She recalled that Jessica had said it was basically the noble faction, and with a peek around, she could tell that this was a higher end dress shop… She was trying to get on her good side. It was essentially a bribe.

  She was going to take it.

  Chapter Seven – Invention

  Once she had come to her decision, she nodded to Sharon and said quietly, “Thank you, then. I’ll remember this.”

  Sharon beamed; apparently she had accomplished her supposed goal of buttering Jade up a bit. Bribe tacitly accepted, score one, Sharon. Zero poin
ts for being incorruptible. Was someone going to be counting? Was whoever sent her here going to get annoyed if she didn’t follow whatever their master plan was? Well, whatever. She was going to live her life and worry about if she was pissing off some higher being whenever she met said being.

  She slipped the coins into her pocket, nodding to Sharon and patting Tina on the head. “Can you point me in the direction of the library?”

  “Of course, you go…” Sharon had looked a little puzzled as to why she was asking at first, then just gave her directions after a moment. She probably concluded that since Jade was applying to the academy, she had the right credentials or something.

  Stepping out into the mid-afternoon (ish? She had forgotten to ask again...) sunshine once more, she looked around. The crowd from earlier had dissipated, leaving the normal pedestrian traffic. She turned left and started walking, making sure to absently brush up against anyone she could with the excuse of the crowd and an apologetic smile when they watched her awkwardly walk on.

  She squinted, trying to figure out if she was close. That’s it, the first thing I do when I have extra money is commission sunglasses. How do these people stand it being so bright? She kept having to switch which arm was shading her eyes, given that she got tired easily. Thankfully, she was only a few blocks away from the massive open area called Priom Square, if the sign proclaiming its name was anything to go by.

  She stood to the side, just admiring the bustling square. It was the center of the city area, or rather, it was the center of activity in this area. There was the humongous courthouse type looking structure that was probably the government building Jessica had mentioned as the upper city hall. Apparently, some trends were popular no matter which world you were on, such as making the government building the biggest thing on the block. Second was make the church enormous and pointy. Apparently there was a religion around here, she just didn’t know what it was yet. She’d have to check that out soonish so she didn’t accidentally get herself killed by mortally offending someone’s morality. This was important since pretty much every single person in this area looked like they could snap her in half without effort. Was this a breeding ground for bodybuilders, or was she just that weak in comparison?