by J E Mueller
Taking her advice I pulled in my magic more quickly than before, but not by much. I could work on that lesson easily in my own time as well.
Ready to continue, Jamie jumped onto the next lesson. “Now let’s go for anger. After this, we’ll work on cycling the magic through different emotions at a faster pace. If you’re going to actually be using this ability in any life or death situations you’ll need to be able to switch quickly.”
Pausing, she stopped her pacing. “Sadly, we’re in a very controlled environment here. In a fight, anything can happen. You cannot - and must not - let any emotion get the best of you. It doesn't matter if you see your best friend die or see them save someone. You will have an impact on the shield if you let another emotion dominate your mind. Someone may die. Wars have a high enough casualty count as it is. Don’t add to it more than necessary.”
I nodded, knowing full well that the stakes were much too high. “Guess I better make this second nature as quickly as possible.” I needed to stick to this if I was going to be ready for battle soon.
Jamie jumped right back into the lesson. “Reuse the thoughts and images you’re currently using to bring these emotions forth. It’ll help speed it up. Now let’s go. Anger.”
This one was easy. Until recently there had been much I was angry with, including myself. I summoned the magic around me and saw the intense flames flicker and try to burst out, waiting for a victim to come just close enough to singe and destroy.
I felt and saw them jump hungrily at Jamie only to fail to latch onto her. I felt like my magic was being reflected back at me. Maybe that’s how she could tell we had similar magic earlier.
“Good.” Jami nodded. “Very good. Can you feel it attacking me?”
“Yes.” It continued to try and grab at her skin, but her magic was one and the same. With nothing to attack, it simply returned to the shield. I could see it didn’t leave marks or harm her and wondered if she even felt the intensity of the heat.
“If you’ve got elemental friends, they’ll be fine with this power, but anyone else may not be able to combat the intensity of the flames. It is strong, and you are strong. Wield it like a weapon in this form, use happiness to shield, and sadness to defend but not kill.”
“How can I defend and kill? Knowing my luck, a time may call for it,” I asked.
“We’re not all powerful.” Jamie sighed but nodded, understanding where this question came from. “While there may be a way, I can’t think of a fitting emotion. Jealousy would hurt like anger, fear much the same way as sadness. Now if you don’t call on a circular shield to encase your allies you have options. Instead, picture a shield in front of you only, like a solid wall. You can direct anger in that fashion and not kill those by your side. That may be the only other way to do so.”
“Let’s try that, then. Moving from an encased shield of joy to a shield wall of anger. That will likely be the transition I’ll be faced with most.” I was glad to test the idea out here and now with someone who wouldn’t be harmed.
We did so, working on the technique several times. The timing was the hardest to get right and key to pulling off the technique. Too soon and I’d hurt whoever was next to me. Too late and...
After hours of practice, I felt comfortable enough with it to take a break. My body felt strained from using so much magic at once when it was not used to using any.
“You’ve got all you need to win this fight,” Jamie said as we sat on the grass near where we had been practicing. “I’ll more than willingly help you practice, but I don’t see anything else I can teach you on this subject.”
“What else would you have to teach?” I asked curiously. Now that I was actually able to make progress, I had a desire to learn anything I possibly could.
“There’s so much more that you can do once you’ve gained perfect control of this,” Jamie replied, staring at the sky. “You can have the magic lay specifically on weapons. Create a staff of fire or use it on swords. You can use it like elemental fire magic if you summon it forward and light fires or just simply use it to heat water.”
“The weapons one sounds cool. Never thought of that.” That could be a really fun and practical application of magic.
“It takes patience and concentration to keep it just on a single object, but it can be done. It’s a way of fighting with magic without it expanding every which way, but I doubt we have time for that before you leave for this mission. Instead, let’s focus on what we’ve started. The more you master this, the less tired you’ll be when you need to use it for real.” Jamie looked at me. “Ready for another round?”
I wasn’t, but there wasn’t much time to get this down. “Let’s do it,” I said instead and stood back up.
It was getting dark by the time I got back. Dragging myself into the house, I plopped down on the sofa, ready to call it quits for the day. Moments later Tella dashed up to me.
“What have you been up to?” she asked, a bit too enthusiastic.
“Practicing my magic. I’m very tired so be careful, okay?” I hadn’t realized how excited she would be to see me again.
Tella nodded vigorously. “That’s a good idea.” She paused for a moment, clearly wanting to say something. Tella shook her head and seemed to say something else instead, “Can I braid your hair?”
“I’m very tired, maybe in the morning,” I replied with a yawn. “Actually that's a great idea. Let’s make plans for tomorrow morning instead?”
She pouted for a moment before giving in. “Oh okay. No sneaking off again though, okay?”
If I had known what sort of effect my leaving would have on others I wondered if I would have stayed for at least a little longer. I felt bad but was too tired to make amends right at that moment. “I promise,” I agreed wholeheartedly.
With a smile, Tella left.
“I think I’ve gained a follower,” I told Lee as he came inside.
He nodded, looking back at the door. “Could be worse.”
“Aren’t there other kids her age around here?” I asked curiously.
Lee sat on the floor in front of the sofa. “Yes, but not a lot. Some days they’re all the best of friends and other days they need a break from each other. There are lots of age gaps around here.” He shrugged, “It’s common in smaller towns.”
“Probably. It makes sense.” I yawned.
“Dinner should be done soon,” he said as he took a seat with me.
“Can I just sleep instead?” I did not feel like I could move another muscle.
“You’re not going to regain much energy without food. Won’t be much longer.” He paused. “How did training go?”
“Everything hurts,” I groaned loudly. “But I’ve gotten the hang of a lot of the basics. Just practice, practice, practice from here.” Another thought came to me. “It’s weird how no one bothers you when you’re clearly practicing magic here. This magic town is weird. No one questions it or looks at you oddly, just you know ‘oh look they’re working on magic stuff, best give them room’. It’s a strangely accepting environment.”
“Acceptance is what we strive for,” Lee agreed. “It’s why I really love calling this place home.”
“Do you ever get tired of everyone knowing you and not being able to just walk around and just be… just exist? It’s nice having time to just roam on your own and not have someone five minutes later be like ‘oh yeah I saw them walking by blah blah earlier.”
“Yes.” Lee laughed. “There’s a lot of those moments, but you can go outside of the village. Not right now sadly, but roaming the forest is a great way to just be yourself. To just be part of the world and not have to worry about anything or anyone since the trees don’t care who you are.”
“That’s true.” I nodded. There were a lot of pros and cons to living here.
“The great thing is that you kind of have an extended family. If I was mad at my mother I could go down the street to a friend’s family and yell it out, and they’d listen, help me see both si
des, and that my mother was right or trying her best. No one’s really on their own here. You have help. Need to fix your roof? Done. Broke an arm and can’t get to your crops? No problem. Did your child light the house on fire for the third time this week? It happens.”
The last example made me giggle. “That does sound nice.” I closed my eyes, amused at the thought of accidental magical havoc.
“There’s ups and downs no matter where you live. As long as the ups are more frequent than the downs than you’re set.” He paused for a moment, “What’s on your mind?”
“Don’t know really,” I admitted. “A lot's happened recently and it’s been a lot to take in and adjust to it. But I haven’t had time to adjust to much, just accept the facts and move on. Not sure if that makes all this easier or not. Who would have guessed I’d be helping my brother end a war before it begins? Being on speaking terms with him seems odd enough.”
“In a good way?” Lee asked, amused.
“Yeah. It’s all good, really.” I thought on it for a moment more. “I’m happy overall with the way things are going, I just wish the fighting was over so I could pick and choose what to concentrate on. Of course, this shield stuff is fascinating but what if I wanted to learn how to make a pretty cake? Don’t have time. Having time for mundane things sounds nice.”
“I know how to bake a pie,” Lee added happily. “When this is all over I can show you how to do that.”
“That’d be nice,” I agreed. “Can I sleep now?”
“No.” He laughed. “I’ll go check on dinner, though.”
28
The next morning I awoke with a cold. It was quickly decided it was magical, since, with my curse fire, I couldn’t catch a normal cold virus. I had overworked my magic. Again. It was odd being fussed over and having a fever that took forever to break. It was weirder having Zarek visit me. He stayed for a bit to see how I was doing, and when it was clear I wasn’t awake enough to retain anything, he told me random stories of silly things I had missed instead.
Finally, by the next night, I was starting to stay awake long enough to hold real conversations.
“What have you been up to?” I asked Lee, not remembering if he had already told me. He had just peeked in the room to see if I was up.
“I spent some time working on committee things and helping Zarek. Tella’s probably checked in on you twenty times, and Mother said you’ve had enough of her special stew to be good to go tomorrow.”
“It tasted… really strange. Not really good either,” I confessed quietly, remembering the oddly bitter after taste.
“Don’t ask what's in it.” Lee shook his head. “It works with magic sickness, and if you keep it all down you’ll be fine the next day.”
“That bad?” I tried to guess at what could be in it, but nothing came to mind.
“Yes.” He shuddered. “Anyway, we've got three more days and we’ll continue on with operation ‘see if they’re stupid enough to capture Zarek again’.”
“This already sounds like a bad plan.” I groaned. Hopefully, it was a bit better formed than that.
“We’re planning on this group continuing to not using their brains,” Lee explained honestly. “We’re going to set up what looks like a hunting venture, which is logical. Our village has to eat. The whole team will go, and they should bite within the first few days. I’d be surprised if it was night one, but they may not wait for our guard to be down.”
“Your visions can figure out the day?” I asked, hopeful.
“It’s too far in the future for me to be certain. It’ll work, and that’s all I’ve got.”
“That’s good enough for me then.” I still felt terrible and didn’t know what to think of this idea, but at least the plan had some visions to support it.
Lee sat down next to me on the bed. “That’s the general consensus. We’ve got some situational stuff planned, but what it really comes down to is where they go and what’s going on there.”
“And that’s far enough in the future that there are no known details.”
“Correct.” He brushed the hair away from my face. “I’ll see if I can convince Mother to let you have a normal dinner. You’ll be dissecting your soup after what I said.”
“Yes, please,” I agreed, laughing.
The next couple of days went by quickly. While I felt better the very next day, I could still feel a lingering strain when I practiced my magic. I worried how it would affect any upcoming events, but pushed it to the back of my mind. I kept my practicing to a minimum so I wouldn’t get bedridden again, but the strain remained the same. There was little I could do about it, and in truth, I didn’t need much to destroy an enemy. It was keeping people alive that I needed to be careful with.
It was early morning a week later and we were finally preparing to leave. Juni had said her piece the night before and Tella made sure I let her braid good luck ribbons in my hair. There was no way I could say no, even if I knew my magic would likely damage them. It was already a wonder it didn’t set my hair aflame, and I was thankful for that.
Once we were certain we were far enough away from the town and had drawn the attention of those we wanted, we set up camp. We laid out some game traps, collected wood, and prepared for what was to come.
Nothing happened the first night.
Or the second.
Not even the third.
The plan was looking like it would fail but Lee assured us it would work soon. He would only give Zarek the information as to when, and it’d be filtered down to us when we needed to know.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, Lee glanced at Zarek. “Tonight should be an early dinner,” he said, giving a code phrase for when they might finally be nearby and listening. “We’ve done well, and gotten enough game this trip. We should turn in early and head back at dawn.”
From then on, no mention of our plan or magic was discussed. Everyone took turns napping to get some extra rest and kept an eye on Zarek. As soon as he was taken we’d need to react. However, we also made it as easy as possible for them to take the bait and grab Zarek. He stayed closest to the nearby woods after dinner, sharpening his sword.
As the sky turned from lovely hues of yellows and reds to slowly deepening blues, they struck.
Letting out a battle cry they leaped to grab Zarek, while more ran in for the fight. Our troops went for their swords and were ready to push back the attackers. Lee joined them while I made a shield for myself. We wanted them to take Zarek, yes, but we didn’t want them to kill us. So we pushed back mildly at first, and then Lee gave the signal that they were far enough for us to follow and we really began to fight.
Those who were not aiming to kill fell back or fled. The rest met their fate with steel or flames based on their proximity. With the initial threat dealt with, we were ready to be on the move.
The real mission began as we went to track Zarek.
Clover led the charge for a moment before blending into the night with her invisibility. Kilee then took point with her infrared vision and we silently spread out behind her. It was a slow trek, but we made it to their encampment with few issues. Falling back a little, we discussed the situation and sought Lee’s visions for guidance.
“Tomorrow night they’ll make it to where they’re really heading. That’s where we need to go.” He sighed, frustrated that there was a lot more to come.
“But he’ll be fine?” Jason asked the question on all of our minds.
“Yeah.” Lee nodded. “They’re not going to kill him.”
“Do your visions come with a map by chance?” Clover hoped.
“If only.” He rolled his eyes. “We wouldn’t have needed this plan, then. Anyway, I can get us a little up their trail so they’ll pass us and we can fall back and follow them tomorrow morning.”
“They’re going to march all day?” Conner asked, surprised.
“They’ll send the fastest riders of their lot to alert the rest of their team, but Zarek and the rest won’t mak
e it there until just before dusk. They don’t have enough horses,” Lee confirmed.
We did as we had planned and just before dawn, we were on the move again. It was agonizing being as quiet as possible and avoiding their scouts all day. We feasted on dried foods as we crept just far enough behind their party to not be noticed. By the time we reached the larger encampment they were heading for, we knew we’d need to rest before acting.
“How long do we have?” I asked Lee. I happily slumped to the ground, tired of all the sneaking. Normal travel was never this draining.
He concentrated for a moment, vision alight with magic. “An hour. They’ll meet, Zarek will be himself and of course not join them, and then the path goes many different ways.”
“What ways?” Mara asked.
Lee took a deep breath, not pleased to have to deliver all the news. “If we wait longer, the one Zarek is brought to see will either kill him in one of three ways or leave him be until the morning. It depends on when we move in - before or at the hour we strike changes things as well. There is too much to see and understand at once.”
“What’s the best bet, then?” Jason asked calmly, taking the lead.
“In a half hour we should split up. Key’s half will be a great distraction and cause full force destruction. Mine will sneak in and out with Zarek in tow,” Lee replied.
I was surprised we’d be splitting up. “Why the split?”
Lee looked me in the eyes. “You’ve got this. You can protect people and cause the most damage all at once. The smaller group with me needs to be unseen and get Zarek free. I’m just the guy with the visions.”
“What about their leader?” Kilee asked. It was the biggest reason we came.
“Three final paths.” Lee held up the same amount of fingers to emphasize his point, “He may take the distraction bait and goes into the fray, leaving none alive.” We all nodded and he continued. “Two, he poisons Zarek. The cure will be in the room, the leader's pocket, and can be made by just about anyone back home. It’s slow to kill and he’ll live for another few days, but it causes great pain and slowly causes violent episodes. Finally, he could hide and wait for those of us rescuing Zarek.”